Lasagne soup was completely foreign to me until recently thanks to some browsing on social media. It seems to be an american invention but what a great idea it is! All the elements of a great lasagne but with almost none of the work since, in my version, most of the cooking is done in the slow cooker.
I like to serve mine with an easy homemade vegan ricotta which serves as a great counterpoint to the rich tomato sauce. This recipe works great for a crowd, uses mostly pantry stables, and is really quite hands off so is ideal for these days were so many people are working from home and trying not to go shopping so much. Remember – #Stayathome and enjoy some good food while you’re at it!
- Makes: Serves 4-6
Ingredients
For the Soup:
- 1.2 ltr Vegetable Stock
- 1 Large Onion
- 2 Sticks of Celery
- 2 Carrots
- 1 Green Pepper
- 3 Garlic Cloves
- 150g Lentils*
- 1 tsp Crushed Chillies
- 2 Tbsp Vegan Worcester sauce
- 2 tsp Basil
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp Thyme
- 2 tins Chopped Tomatoes
- 8 Lasagne Pasta Sheets**
- 250g Frozen Spinach
- Salt & Pepper to taste
For the Cashew Ricotta:
- 225g Cashews
- 150ml Plant based Milk (I like oat or almond milk)
- 1Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive OIl
- 1 tsp Nutritional Yeast
- 1Tbsp Vegan Pesto (optional)
Directions
For best results, I recommend soaking your cashews overnight or a long as possible but if you loose track of time then try to soak them for at least an hour in boiling water.
Chop all your veg into small dice and place into your slow cooker with minced garlic, herbs, lentils and stock. Cook on high for 2 hours (or on low for 4 hours), if you’re using brown lentils they should be ever so slightly firm.
Add your tomatoes and worcester sauce, stir well and cook on high for another 2 hours (or on low for another 4 hours).
While your slow cooker is bubbling away you can whip together your ricotta. Place all the ricotta ingredients except the pesto into a blender and blitz until completely smooth. If using the pesto, swirl it into your ricotto and taste – add salt if you feel it’s needed and place in the fridge till ready to serve.
Finally, break up your pasta into easily manageable chunks and stir through along with your frozen spinach. Leave cooking for another 15 minutes or so, or until the pasta is fully cooked. Season to taste (seriously here, you haven’t added any salt to your soup by this point so do taste and season as needed, don’t season before hand as salt can inhibit the cooking for lentils).
Serve with a healthy dollop of ricotta on top and enjoy!
Notes
* I like to use a 2:1 balance of brown lentils to red but this works equally well with just brown lentils.
** We use Gluten free pasta but this should work with normal pasta too
Allergy Notes; To make this gluten free, just use GF pasta per the note above. If cashew nuts are a problem for you then there are plenty of tofu based ricotta recipes
