Vegan Asian Lasagna

So, keeping with my challenge of having Asian this week, it was Friday and I was stumped. What can I do next? I am sure that if an entire culture of people can eat this way year round, a fourth night for me could not be that impossible. So I thought about pasta, not noodles, but a baked dish. . . and I came up with the idea of an Asian Lasagna. What a great idea, I thought! Wow, I wonder if anyone has ever made an Asian Lasagna--well, thanks to Google, I learned that quite a few folks have thought of this before--darn. I skimmed a few places. Decided on what I'd do. I really wanted a good sauce, however, not tomato-based (read the previous post) that wasn't going to cut it. So, I have a jar of miso in the fridge--I love miso--I love it! I combined a few ideas together and came up with this sauce--modified to fit my taste. The veggies, again, came from: What Do I Have in The Fridge/Garden? I will give a short rundown on this because to me, making a lasagna is one of the easiest things in the world to do--you just can't mess them up. This picture is sort of ugly, but trust me, it tasted delicious--really!

Asian Vegan Lasagna

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1/2 red onion sliced thin

3 garlic cloves minced
1 large portobello chopped

1/2 red pepper diced

2 inches fresh ginger chopped

1 broccoli head chopped

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons fresh Thai basil

1 teaspoon Spike or your favorite low-sodium seasoning

1 tablespoon Braggs Liquid Aminos

1 medium carrot julienned

1 cup spinach packed

1 bunch Swiss chard red stems removed and chopped

1 jar roasted red peppers drained--*reserved for layering within the lasagna

1 package of no-boil lasagna noodles

Heat oil in pan, add mushrooms, onions and garlic. Cook until mushrooms have released their juices and have begun to brown. Add remaining ingredients--but not the roasted red peppers, tossing the greens/broccoli and carrots to insure they are being warmed and begin to wilt. Remove from heat.

Sauce

2 tablespoons sesame oil

5 garlic cloves minced

1 shallot diced

1 inch fresh ginger minced

1 14 oz. can lowfat coconut milk

2 cups veggie broth

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon Spike seasoning

3 tablespoons brown rice flour

2 tablespoons tahini

1 tablespoon miso

Preheat oven to 425. Oil a 9x13 baking dish. Heat the garlic and ginger in oil for about 15 seconds. Don't let the ginger and garlic burn. Then add the coconut milk and veggie broth. Add the tahini and in a separate bowl, measure out the brown rice flour. Slowly pour the flour into the sauce stirring constantly. Keep heat to a medium low. The sauce will begin to thicken. Take about 1/3 of cup of the broth and place in a separate bowl. Add the miso to this and whisk until blended. Then add this back to the pot. Add remaining seasonings. If sauce seems too thin, add another teaspoon of brown rice flour. If sauce seems too thick, add more broth or water a tablespoon at a time.

To assemble the lasagna: Ladle about 1/2 cup sauce in bottom of dish. Add layer of noodles. The noodles do not need to be touching, they will expand as they cook. Add a layer of veggies, a layer of roasted red peppers on top of this. Repeat layers. You will have a bit of sauce left over--keep this warm and use it to plate the dish and ladle some over the finished lasagna. Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes, then remove foil and let bake uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 1o minutes before slicing. YUM!