So here is my recipe for Virtual Vegan Potluck. I so enjoyed participating in the last potluck that I signed up to do it again. Be sure to start at the beginning of the potluck by going to Virtual Vegan Potluck.This recipe is not for the faint of heart. It is cheezy, rich, and takes hours to make. I came up with this recipe years ago when trying to come up with an idea for a work potluck event.

I have since veganized it and much to my surprise, it tastes even better than the non-vegan version. Plus you won’t feel full and bloated the way you do with regular cheese lasagna. I think it goes without saying that this dish is to be eaten with moderation but the special people in your life will never cease to thank you for making this for them. Click here to find out the recipe.

Vegan Ricotta Cheese

Ingredients

1 block of extra firm tofu

2 Cloves of garlic

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 medium size lemon (juiced)

1 Tablespoon fresh basil (chopped)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (add more to your desired taste)

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Put everything into a blender or food processor and blend until it is almost smooth. Leave a few lumps so that it resembles real ricotta cheese.

Fried Eggplant Lasagna Recipe

Ingredients

3-4 Large Eggplants

3 Cups of unbleached all purpose flour

3 Tablespoons of flax seed powder

¼ Cup of water

2 Teaspoons of garlic powder

1 Teaspoon of black pepper

2 Teaspoon of sea salt

1 ½ Cups of bread crumbs

¼ Canola or sunflower oil

2 Jars of spicy basil spaghetti sauce or the sauce of your liking

2 Packages of vegan shredded cheese

¼ nutritional yeast

1 package of Tofurky Italian sausage

Peel eggplant and slice into ¼ inch slices. Slice the Italian sausage into thin slices then set it aside with the eggplant while you prep the batter.

For the dry ingredients put 1 cup of flour,, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, black pepper, and 1 teaspoon of sea salt into a large bowl. Mix everything together and set the bowl aside.

Also set aside a bowl with the 1 ½ cups of bread crumbs.

In another large bowl mix the wet ingredients together. This includes 2 cups of flour, ¼ cup of water, 3 tablespoons of flax seed powder, 1 teaspoon of sea salt, and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Mix everything well and add a little water if needed to give the mixture the consistency of pancake batter.

Now that your assembly line is set up we can commence with making this delicious entree. Dip the egg plant slices in the dry mixture first, then the wet mixture and finally dredge each slice in bread crumbs before dropping into a skillet of canola/sunflower oil. If you use the stove top method make sure that the oil is heated on medium heat. You should hear the oil begin to crackle before dropping in the eggplant slices.

Cook the eggplant until it is golden brown on each side and set them on a plate covered with paper towels to soak up the excess oil.

After the eggplant is done begin the assembling the lasagna.

Pour a little bit of the spaghetti sauce into the bottom of the lasagna pan. This will prevent the first layer from sticking and it will also add flavor to those first few slices. After pouring the sauce start placing the eggplant slices in the bottom of the baking pan. Put the larger slices down first and use the smaller slices to cover up any gaps.

Using a spatula or spread a thin to medium thick layer of the vegan ricotta over the eggplant slices. Shake a little bit of the nutritional yeast over the vegan ricotta . Sprinkle the shredded vegan cheese over the ricotta and nutritional yeast. Follow that up with the sausage slices and spaghetti sauce. It is better add the sauce as the last layer to prevent soggy eggplant slices.

Keep building the lasagna the way I instructed above until you get to the final layer of eggplant. After layering the last of the ingredients on top, cover with a liberal amount of vegan cheese and chopped basil.

Preheat your oven at 4oo degrees for 10-15 minutes. When you are finished preheating the oven, turn the temperature down to 350 degrees and bake the lasagna for 20-30 minutes (depending on your oven) or until the top layer of cheese is melted.

Take the lasagna out of the oven and allow it rest for 10 minutes.

 Then serve and enjoy!