Lasagna with Cheesy Cashew Cream
[Vegan]

How to Make Cheesy Cashew Cream:

1. Start by hot soaking your cashews. Place cashews in a small heat-proof bowl. Pour boiling water, enough to generously cover, over the cashews and let them soften for 10-20 minutes. When soft, drain off the soaking water and rinse the cashews. You can also cold soak your cashews in water overnight.
2. Add the soaked soy milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, miso paste, garlic powder, and salt to a cup-style blender container. Let this sit while the cashews soak to make buttermilk. When ready to blend, add the soaked cashews.
3. Securely attach the lid to the container and blend at high speed until the mixture is completely smooth with no cashew lumps remaining.
4. This may take a couple of minutes, or more, depending on what type of blender you are using. I’ve had the best luck blending for 90 seconds using a Nutribullet.

How to Make Vegan Ragu Sauce:

1. Add the chopped mushrooms to a 4-6 quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Sautee until most of the water is cooked out of the mushrooms and they have shrunk in size by about half. This will take around 5 minutes.
2. Add the diced onion and carrots to the mushrooms and sprinkle with the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Continue to sauté until the onions are translucent and the carrots are soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add water, one tablespoon at a time, if the vegetables begin to dry out.
3. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, one minute more.
4. Deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar and pour in the pureed tomatoes. Add the coconut sugar, tomato paste, black pepper, and give it a stir. -OR- skip this step and pour a 25.5 - 28 oz. jar of marinara sauce over the vegetables and stir.
5. Simmer partially covered, to let the steam escape and to keep the sauce from spattering all over the stovetop, for 15 minutes. Time-saving tip! Skip this step if using a jar of marinara sauce. This is also a good time to blend your cheesy cashew cream.
6. Turn off the heat and fold in the chopped basil. Season with salt, pepper, and coconut sugar to taste.

How to make Vegan Lasagna with Cheesy Cashew Cream:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C / gas mark 4
2. Grab a 7.5” x 10.5” (2.5 quart) ungreased baking dish and make 3 layers in this order: (1) Ragu sauce, 1 cup, evenly spread. (2) 3 lasagna sheets (uncooked) Snap the corners or ends off to fit your pan as needed. (3) Cheesy cashew cream, ½ cup, evenly spread. (4) Spinach, 2/3 cup, evenly sprinkled
3. Spread the remaining ragu sauce over the top (you’ll have about one cup left).
4. Tightly cover the pan with foil, keeping the foil taught so it doesn’t touch the top of the lasagna. Bake, covered, for 35 minutes. Remove the foil, rotate the pan 180 degrees, and bake uncovered for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes to cool and set up a bit.
5. Drizzle the top with remaining cheesy cashew cream and sprinkle with vegan parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Slice and serve!