lasagna soup

this is a recipe i enjoy to make to avoid doing a whole pan of lasagna; is as satisfying and tasty as a good slice! and plus you get the soup, warm factor. it has a good amount of protein thanks to the lentils, so is super filling and in my opinion, an authentic lasagna flavor.

i recommend start doing the soup first as it takes only a few minutes, and while you wait, the ricotta cheese can be done (if you're up for making it!)

hope you enjoy it!

ingredients:

>lasagna soup

• 1 cup pasta sauce 
  • make sure it has spices!
• 2 cups vegetable stock 
• 1/4 cup dry lentils
• 2 cups vegetables 
  • i like to use corn, broccoli,peas, carrots, green beans, spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers...the possibilities are endless!
• 4 lasagna noodles

>ricotta cheese

• 1 block extra firm tofu
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon parsley
• 1/4 cup non-dairy unsweetened milk of choice
  • i like to use almond milk.
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • freshly squeezed is better
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

instructions 

1. on a pot, add the pasta sauce and vegetable stock. stir until they are well combined.
2. add the lentils and break into pieces the lasagna noodles. 
3. up to preference, but you can add your veggies from the beginning or wait a few minutes before adding. chop vegetables if necessary. 
4. cover your pot and let simmer until lentils and noddles are soft, around 20-25 minutes.
5.  on a paper towel-lined plate, put the tofu block. with another paper towel, press the tofu to remove some of the water. remove as much as possible. press even if it starts to break and deform.
6. crumble the tofu into a food processor and pulse together until it's pretty crumbly but still with good sized chunks.
7. add the remaining ingredients, and pulse until mostly smooth. you may need to adjust the spices to taste, specially the salt and pepper, as well as the nutritional yeast. set aside to be used.
8. when your soup is ready, all it's left it's to plate. place a good serving into a bowl. add a spoon or two of ricotta cheese. garnish with some red pepper flakes (if it's your thing!) and some more parsley.

hope you enjoy it! let me know what you think below, please look forward to more recipes!

ana