As the wild garlic season continues I could not resist another wild garlic inspired recipe. This time I made a comforting wild garlic vegan lasagne. It’s a delicious, layered Spring bake that won’t leave you hungry yet its Spring inspired flavours of wild garlic, spring onions and lemon won’t send you into a food coma either.
This wild garlic vegan lasagne will hopefully inspire you to venture out into nature and do a spot of foraging with purpose. I am very lucky as where I live is absolutely surrounded by wild garlic going…erm…wild absolutely everywhere. There are swathes of it in my local park and nature reserve (I am lucky enough to live close to both) and it smells so pungently wherever I go that there is no mistaking this plant for anything else.
Over the years I made quite a few recipes with my locally foraged wild garlic (thank you, Mother Nature!!) including these delicious savoury wild garlic scones, wild garlic pesto, handmade wild garlic ravioli and wild garlic quiches, but I haven’t made a wild garlic vegan lasagne yet so I thought I should rectify that pronto.
A wild garlic vegan lasagne isn’t hard to make and it makes for a delicious main, which won’t be amiss during upcoming Easter celebrations if you are planning any. We love having this vegan lasagne with a big green salad on the side. I hope you’ll make it and if wild garlic isn’t something that is growing near you but you still feel like a lighter take on this Italian classic, try my spanakopita inspired vegan spinach lasagne instead – it’s another Spring favourite of ours.
MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS
WILD GARLIC: Wild garlic also known as ramsons or bear garlic is in season right now. I picked mine locally and I hope you can find it around where you live too. If you are going to forage please do so responsibly – be sure to pick the leaves only instead of pulling the entire plant out of the ground. Also, make sure you wash the leaves in several changes of water as they may have been peed on by a dog, fox or worse 😉 . If wild garlic is not available to you, wilt a big bag of spinach and some herbs (basil, mint or dill all work lovely) for flavour.
SPRING ONIONS (SCALLIONS): I used a small bunch of spring onions, known as scallions in the US, as alliums in this recipe. I pan fried them in a bit of oil to mellow the flavour out and add to the mixture once softened and a little charred.
CASHEWS / SUNFLOWER SEEDS: Raw cashews or hulled sunflower seeds soaked in water to soften are a great plant-based ricotta substitute in a dish like this. Soak them in cold water overnight or in boiling water for at least 20-30 minutes, drain and they are ready to use.
TOFU: I used firm (non-silken variety) tofu alongside cashews to mimic traditionally used ricotta. There is no need to press the tofu, simply drain and use as is.
LEMONS: I used a zest of two small lemons and about a third cup of lemon juice to add brightness and a touch of tang to the sauce. Adjust the amount of lemon juice to taste, I like a lot of tang but you may not like as much of it so please do go by your tastebuds.
NUTRITIONAL YEAST: Nutritional yeast is what adds a hint of cheesiness and umami to both the wild garlic sauce and the bechamel. It’s widely available in large supermarkets these days – I use a UK brand called Marigold. If it’s not available to you, replace with umami rich miso paste but be sure to dial down the salt as miso adds a lot of saltiness as well.
MISO PASTE: I used white (shiro) miso paste to add a bit more depth to both sauces. You could use red miso, but you may want to add a little less as it tends to be more intense. I usually go by your tastebuds.
NUTMEG: Nutmeg is a slightly sweet warming spice that gives bechamel a little more character. Use as little or as much as your tastebuds desire and freshly grated is best.
LASAGNE PASTA: Unless the packet states ‘egg pasta’, most lasagne sheets are vegan these days so you will have no trouble finding them. I recommend using tried and tested no cook lasagne sheets. I used Barilla Collezione sheets as they never let me down.
OLIVE OIL: I use mild olive oil as a base for my bechamel sauce, but vegan butter or a mixture of the two works well too.
FLOUR: I use all purpose wheat flour to make the roux for my bechamel. If making this dish gluten-free, use a good gluten-free flour mix like this one
HOW TO MAKE IT?
1) PAN-FRY SPRING ONIONS
To begin with, soak your cashews (or sunflower seeds) in boiling water than pan-fry white and light green parts of spring onions until softened and charred in places.
2) MAKE WILD GARLIC SAUCE & BECHAMEL
Place all of the wild garlic sauce ingredients (apart from the pasta) in a food processor and pan-fried spring onions. Add water (or plant milk) and blend until you get a well blended ricotta like mixture. Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Make the bechamel sauce in a separate pot.
3) LAYER & BAKE
Layer the dish in an oven-proof dish. I used a cast iron casserole dish, 26 cm or 10 inch diameter. If you are also using a round dish like me, be sure to break your pasta sheets with your hands to cover any gaps. Continue building the layers until you’ve used up all of the sauce and be sure to make the wild garlic sauce layer as the last layer. Pour the bechamel on top. Optionally, you may want to dot the dish with swirls of wild garlic (or other) pesto but that is totally optional. Bake, covered initially then uncover and let the top brown.
INGREDIENTS
WILD GARLIC LAYERS
- 100 g / 3.5 oz wild garlic leaves
- 30-60 ml / 2-4 tbsp olive oil
- a bunch of spring onions/scallions
- 100 g / 3.5 oz (¾ cup) cashews or sunflower seeds
- 400 g / 14 oz firm unpressed tofu
- 25 g / ½ cup nutritional yeast
- zest of 2 small lemons, plus juice to taste
- 15 g / 1 tbsp white miso paste
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 250 g / 9 oz no cook vegan lasagne sheets*
- 2 tbsp wild garlic pesto, for decoration (optional)
BECHAMEL (or alternative bechamel)
- 5 g / 1 tsp white miso paste
- 600 ml / 2 cups + 2 tbsp plant milk (I used Oatly barista)
- 60 ml / ½ cup mild olive oil (or vegan butter)
- 60 g / ½ cup AP flour (or GF flour mix)
- 6 g / 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- salt and pepper, to taste
- freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
METHOD
WILD GARLIC SAUCE
- Soak cashews or sunflower seeds in boiling water for at least 20 minutes or longer to soften. Rinse and drain.
- Heat up olive oil in a large frying pan, add white and light green part of spring onions (scallions). Sautée on low-medium heat until softened and charred a little.
- Place cashews (or sunflower seeds), well rinsed wild garlic leaves, unpressed tofu, sautéed spring onions, miso, nutritional yeast and lemon zest in a food processor. Add a cup and a quarter (300 ml) of plant milk or water and process until the mixture resembles loose ricotta.
- Season with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
BECHAMEL
- Warm plant milk up in a small saucepan. Place miso in a small bowl and add a couple of tablespoons of milk from the saucepan, stir until it dissolves, set aside.
- Slowly heat up olive oil in a large saucepan (stainless steal works best for this). Once the oil starts to shimmer, sprinkle in flour while whisking the whole time.
- Allow the fat-flour mixture (known as roux) to bubble gently on low-medium heat for a minute, whisking the whole time. Don’t let it brown.
- Take the pot off the heat and slowly pour in warmed plant milk while whisking the whole time. Initially the mixture may look a bit lumpy – don’t worry, it will recover once all the milk has been whisked in. Once the mixture looks stable and smooth, whisk in miso and nutritional yeast.
- Return the pot to the stove. Simmer briefly (while whisking) until the sauce thickens to a consistency of cream. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
ASSEMBLY
- Preheat the oven to 200° C / 390° F (or 180° C / 355° F with fan).
- Put a bit of bechamel sauce and wild garlic sauce at the bottom of your dish. Follow this up with a layer of lasagne sheets, break some into smaller pieces to fill in any gaps.
- Carry on building your lasagne until you’ve used up all of the pasta or wild garlic sauce. Make sure wild garlic sauce layer is last.
- Spread the bechamel on top of the wild garlic sauce. Make decorative swirls with wild garlic pesto if using.
- Cover the dish with a piece of kitchen foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Increase the oven temperature to 220° C / 430° F, uncover the dish and bake for another last 10 minutes until the top is golden brown.
- Allow the dish to set for at least an hour or else the slices will come out messy. Store the leftovers for up to 5 days in the fridge or freeze in air-tight containers.
NOTES
*TOFU: I used plain tofu by UK brand Cauldron and I did not press it for this application.
*GLUTEN-FREE VERSIONs: If you wish to make this dish gluten-free, find gluten-free pasta sheets and a gluten-free miso that is based on something other than wheat (rice, chickpeas, millet etc.). To make bechamel, use a gluten-free flour mix.
*BAKING DISH SIZE: The baking dish I used is a 26 cm / 10 inch casserole dish.
Other recipes featuring wild garlic I recommend are wild garlic scones, wild garlic pesto, handmade wild garlic ravioli and wild garlic quiches.