Vegan lasagna

Today I propose a homemade vegetable lasagna from start to finish: from the oat drink to make the béchamel sauce, made from flakes, to the meat sauce made with lentils from Abruzzo that my in-laws brought me from the border of Lazio and the passata made by me (see previous post), up to the pasta made with semolina.

Does it take time?

Yes.
And I know it's not easy for everyoneə to find it. Sometimes it's a challenge even for me, who does this for a living!

But the message is that, maybe not for everything, but for small preparations, we can stop buying the packaged and already processed product, and put our hands back into the raw materials, which are usually healthier and (often) less polluting.

If the prospect scares you and you don't know where to start....
I'll teach you!

For the pasta

Mix the semolina and water, a pinch of salt and roll out the dough after letting it rest for half an hour. Help yourself with a machine to roll out the dough, or with a rolling pin. First reduce the dough into small balls and then proceed flattening them until you get a thin sheet (1-2 mm).

For the meat sauce

After leaving the lentils in cold water for 24 hours, boil them for about 40 minutes starting with the cold water. Add a bay leaf to the water. When the lentils are ready, drain them of their cooking water and set aside.
Rehydrate the ground soybeans in hot water.
Place bay leaves, chopped rosemary, 1 chopped onion and a crushed garlic clove in a pot. Add the minced soybeans, stir in 2-3 tablespoons of shoyu and 1/2 glass of dry white wine. When the liquids have evaporated, season lightly with whole grain salt and add the tomato puree and 1 cup of hot water. Cook for about 1 hour, then add the lentils and continue cooking for another 20 minutes, adding salt to taste.

For the béchamel

Prepare the roux by mixing the sunflower oil and flour. Bring the oat milk (or soy milk) to temperature and gradually add it to the roux until the mixture is liquid and free of lumps. Put the pot on the stove and bring to a boil, stirring with a whisk to avoid uneven thickening. When the béchamel has reached the right consistency (we will keep it a little soft, so that we can cook the pasta directly in the pan without precooking), turn off the heat, flavor with nutmeg and adjust the salt, if necessary.

Alternate layers of pasta, béchamel sauce and meat sauce until the pan is full, cover with domopax (or if you are using an ovenproof dish with a lid, use the lid) and bake at 200° C for 25', then remove the cover and leave to cook au gratin for a few minutes until a nice crust forms. 

This is a dish that should be served hot, with some nutritional yeast and a sprinkling of black pepper, but it can also be reheated or frozen (since it is a lot of work, it is better to prepare several trays and put them in the freezer).