One of my core food groups used to be pasta.
Strangely...it has not been something I've really missed although from this blog you might see that I have attempted to recreate a few of my past favourites in accordance with my new food life. There are many varieties of rice pasta available but I don't like to overdo it (a hard task when you are gluten free).
Lasagna is one of my daughter's favourites. She regularly moans about not having it at our house and requests it at her dad's a lot (but he buys frozen stuff so it's just not the same she says).
I found gluten free rice lasagna pasta at the local grocery store recently and have been mulling what to do with it (no tomatoes? no dairy? yikes).
Seeing Karina's Uncheese Sauce Fit for a Goddess inspired me to whip up this creamy lasagna (with a slightly altered version of her recipe below). I served it with roasted sweet potatoes.
According to my daughter and a friend that was over for dinner last night....it was a perfect success. I am delighted and so grateful for Karina....she truly is a goddess :)
Karina the Goddess' Uncheese Sauce (my version...mostly the same)
4 tablespoons organic sunflower oil $2.09/L ON Karma
5 tablespoons sweet rice flour $1.67/kg THAILAND Chinatown, Toronto
2 1/2 cups organic plain rice milk (warm or room temperature is best) $2.09/L QC Karma
2 rounded tablespoons nutritional yeast $11.77/kg ? Ambrosia's
1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste $1.06/kg ? Karma
1/2 tsp organic yellow mustard seed or to taste ? ? Karma
1 tbsp organic apple cider vinegar or to taste (Filsinger's ) $2.90/L ON Karma
1/4 tsp organic nutmeg ? ? Karma
1/2 teaspoon organic turmeric for color $23.85/kg ? Karma
In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat, and stir in the rice flour using a whisk. Cook and stir the flour - making a thick paste. Stir for a few minutes to cook the raw flour taste out of it.
Slowly add in the rice milk, whisking to blend the flour paste and rice milk.
Bring the mixture to a bubble (it will thicken as it heats) then reduce the heat to low. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk to blend.
Continue heating and stirring the sauce over low heat for about five to ten minutes. Adjust seasonings if required (I used the exact measurements above).
This sauce is DELICIOUS and quite versatile and of course, I used it for the below lasagna. I'm looking forward to using it in other ways too.
Alexandra's 6 layer Lasagna
Layer 1:
The above sauce.
Layer 2:
1 cooked package brown rice lasagna noodles about $17.85/kg ON local grocery store health food section
Layer 3:
1 pound organic ground turkey $16.95/kg ON Beretta
1 medium lightly chopped organic onion $3.25/kg ON Karma
3 chopped cloves organic garlic $11.15/kg ON Karma
1/4 cup turkey stock (I make my own and freeze it).
Cook all of the above until turkey is thoroughly cooked.
Layer 4:
2 stalks chopped organic celery$2.90/bunch CA Karma
1/4 head of cauliflower florets $3.85/head CA Karma
Layer 5:
10 sliced organic crimini mushrooms $9.90/kg VA Karma
Layer 6:
1 bunch organic large spinach leaves washed with thick ribs removed $1.98/bunch CA Karma
I made two lasagnas with the above ingredients and each lasagna had two layers of all the ingredients (one 9"x13" pan and one smaller casserole pan). I added sauce on the top of both of them and also the leftover mushrooms.
Bake the lasagna at 375 F for approximately 30 minutes and then remove and cool by placing in the dishes in your fridge for at least 1 hour.
Alternatively, you could reduce the temperature to 350F and cook for an additional 20 minutes or so but allow the lasagna to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
Reheat a completely cooled lasagna at 350 F for about 40 minutes and roast additional vegetables to serve with this dish.
