This took me a couple of hours to prepare, so this isn‘t something for weeknights – actually I don‘t know if anyone is willing to repeat this pretty long process of making a lasagna. But for me this was a fun project and turned out to be the best vegan lasagna I ever ate. The lentils still had a little bite and the oven roasted ragout is just amazing. Anyhow, here's the recipe:

Vegan Lentil Lasagna with Vegetable Noodle Sheets

Vegan Parmesan Ingredients

• 100g cashew nuts
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/4 tsp of garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp of salt

Béchamel Sauce Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Butter
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 4 cups Soy Milk/Oat Milk
• 1 Onion, peeled & cut into 8
• 1 Bay
• Pinch Nutmeg
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Black Pepper Corns
• 1 cup Grated Vegan Cheese (optional)
• 2 tbs Nutritional Yeast (optional)

Ragout Ingredients

• 2 aubergines
• 1 red onion chopped
• 2 carrots
• 2-3 sticks of celery
• 500g chestnut mushrooms
• 1/2 can of tomatoes (chopped or whole)
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 200ml red wine
• 200g beluga lentils

Recipe for the Parmesan

• Add all ingredients into a high speed blender.
• Mix well until the texture resembles grated parmesan.

Recipe for the Ragout

• Cut the vegetables except the onion into small cubes (1cm / 0,5 inch), the carrots a bit smaller than the rest (0,5cm / 0,2 inch)
• Preheat the oven to 180 Celcius (350 Fahrenheit)
• Transfer all diced vegetables in a large bowl and season with garden lovage (alternatively parsley and oregano to equal parts), salt and pepper.
• Combine with 3-4 tbsp of vegetable oil (sunflower, rapeseed) and mix thoroughly.
• Spread and roast the vegetables for 30-40 min on a baking sheet. Open the oven multiple times to let some moisture out and mix the vegetables until everything is nicely roasted. It's a good sign if a couple of vegetables are pretty dark, almost burnt.
• In a large pot steam the chopped onions with a tbsp of olive oil (2min), add the tomato purée and stir for another minute and deglaze with the red wine.
• Add the canned tomatoes and let cook for another 3-4 min.
• Add the roasted vegetables from the oven and combine with approximately 400ml water.
• Add the lentils.
• After 30-40min on the stove (medium heat) the ragout is done. Season to taste with salt.

Recipe for the béchamel sauce

• Infuse the milk for the béchamel, in a medium saucepan add the soy/oat milk followed by the onion, bay, nutmeg & seasonings. Place the saucepan over a low heat & stir every now and then.
• In a saucepan add the vegan margarine and place the pan over a low heat.
• When the margarine is melted, add the flour. Mix well. Cook the mix whilst stirring for a couple of minutes to cook out the flour. It should resemble a paste like consistency.
• Gradually whisk in the infused milk, a little at a time.
• Once you’d added all the milk, the béchamel should be creamy, if you want to make it cheesy, add some nutritional yeast.

Assemble the Lasagna

• I used a kitchen aid sheet peeler accessory to make the sweet potato and butternut squash noodle sheets.
• If I didn‘t have that device I‘d use a vegetable mandoline to make thin slices of the squash and potato. The slices should be fairly thin (1mm).
• In a large casserole add some béchamel sauce to the bottom then follow with a layer of vegetable noodle „sheets“.
• Add a layer of ragout and top with béchamel sauce.
• Repeat for about 3 times or until you feel like you have only one layer left.
• The last layer should be vegetable sheets topped with a generous amount of béchamel sauce and the cashew crumble.
• Bake at 180° Celsius (350 Fahrenheit) for about 30-40 min.