Lentil Marinara Sauce: Super Thick and Yummy!

I am back! Sorry it has taken me so long to update my blog. It gets a little busy when you have family and best friends visiting, and unfortunately, those unexpected events. But here I am, ready to share my fun and fabulous dishes with you all!

I adapted this lentil marinara sauce recipe from Mrs. J. She had given me this recipe months ago and I finally got the chance to check it out! As I was cooking it though, I decided to turn it into something a little bit more than sauce! More like a stew, but it was a nice, thick sauce perfect over pasta, sauteed veggies (my preference for a healthier dish), or even rice! I love marinara sauces, and to me, the thicker, the better! Yum!

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3-4 fresh garlic cloves, minced
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1-1/2 cups lentils, uncooked 
• 1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne
• 4 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 (6-oz) cans tomato paste
• 2 (14.5) oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1-2 cups broccoli florets
• 3/4 salt
• pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 3 handfuls of baby spinach leaves

Directions

1. In a  large pot or dutch oven, saute the onion and garlic in oil on medium-high heat until tender.
2. Add the broth, lentils, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 40-45 minutes covered.
3. While the lentil mixture is cooking, steam the carrots for roughly 20 minutes, then puree or mash them. This helps to thicken the sauce. Set aside.
4. Once the lentils are done cooking, to the lentil mixture, add the pureed/mashed carrots, tomato paste, diced tomatoes,  broccoli florets, and spices. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes.
5. Add the spinach leaves, cover the pot and simmer for 5 minutes more, until the spinach is wilted.
6. Serve over sauteed, julienned vegetables (i.e. zucchini, squash, carrots) or rice or pasta. Top with fresh basil.
7. Enjoy!

Vegan Eggplant Bake

After a great dinner of vegan lasagna with my fabulous vegan friends, I decided to branch out a bit more and come up with some kind of eggplant parmesan dish. Here we have it, a vegan eggplant bake! This was very similar to the lasagna I made. The only changes I made were: eggplant instead of lasagna noodles, a slightly different marinara sauce, a new tofu filling (thanks to Veganomicon), different veggies in the stir-fry layer, and finally, the addition of veggie cheese (unfortunately the cheese I used contains a couple of products that make it vegan-UNfriendly, but there is vegan cheese available out there!).

Vegan Eggplant Bake

A colorful, layered bake very similar to eggplant parmesan, only better!

Ingredients

  

For the marinara sauce, modified from Veganomicon:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup red wine
• 3 (15-oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
• 1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
• dried parsley
• dried basil
• dried oregano
• salt 

For the filling, Tofu Ricotta from Veganomicon:

• 1 lb extra-firm tofu
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Pinch of ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes 

For the veggie layer:

• olive oil
• 1 pkg soybeans, shelled
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 yellow squash, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• salt
• ground black pepper

Other:

• 1 medium eggplant
• sea salt
• olive oil
• 1 package (12 slices) veggie cheese, mozzarella flavor
• 1/4-1/2 cup grated veggie cheese, parmesan flavor 

Directions:

1. Prepare the marinara sauce: Combine the olive oil, garlic, and onion in a saucepan. Heat over medium heat and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the wine and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and spices. Simmer on low for at least 15 minutes, or until ready to use.
2. Prepare the tofu ricotta: In a large bowl, mush the tofu until crumbly. Add the lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and basil. Mix/mush until consistancy of ricotta cheese, 2-5 min. Add the olive oil, stir with a fork. Add the nutritional yeast and mix together all of the ingredients with a fork. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Roast the eggplant: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet. Slice the eggplant into 1/4-1/2 inch thick rounds. Place rounds on the baking sheet and salt and brush olive oil on both sides of each slice. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip eggplant over and bake for another 5-10 minutes longer. While the eggplant is roasting, make the veggie layer. When the eggplant is ready, remove from oven and set aside until ready to use.
4. To make the veggie layer: Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add soybeans, carrots, zucchini, squash, and bell pepper. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper, to taste. Cook until vegetables become tender. Set aside until ready to use.
5. To make the eggplant bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 Pyrex dish. Place about 1 cup marinara sauce in the bottom of the dish. Place half of the eggplant rounds on top. Layer with half of the tofu ricotta filling, then half of the stir-fry veggies, and then 6 slices of mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Pour half of the remaining marinara on top. Top with the remaining eggplant, tofu ricotta, veggies, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese (omit the mozzarella on this one). Top with the rest of the marinara sauce, 6 slices of mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese. Cover with tinfoil and bake 50-60 min. Remove from oven and lift one end of the tinfoil to allow the bake to release steam. Let rest for at least 10 minutes before serving.

This eggplant bake was DELISH! The tofu ricotta was wonderful! To all you non-vegans, it tasted nothing like tofu! The dish was very flavorful and I have plenty for later! I was able to divide up this dish and freeze it in single servings! Perfect on those late school nights! Enjoy!

Vegan Cheese Sauce

In the past few years I've never been one to eat cream or cheese sauces because of the amount of calories in them, BUT when I saw "cheezy sauce" in Veganomicon, I just have to try it! Ok, thank you Shannon for warning me, and fair warning to everyone else, but this doesn't exactly taste like cheese. It is similar and has a great creamy consistancy though. Oh! And it is very flavorful! I drizzled the "cheese" sauce over steamed veggies, which was yummy!

I had also made black bean burgers that night and got a little daring... I decided to dip my black bean burger into the "cheese" sauce.... AMAZING! I'm not sure why I loved it so much but both the burger and sauce went perfect together. This combo is a must and I will definitely do it again!

Cheezy Sauce (Source: Veganomicon)

Ingredients

• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• A pinch of dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• 3/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp prepared yellow mustard

Directions

1. Combine the broth and flour in a small bowl and whisk with a fork until dissolved.
2. Heat the oil and garlic in a saucepan over medium-low heat, cooking for 2 minutes.
3. Add the thyme, salt, and pepper, and cook for about 15 seconds.
4. Add the broth, turmeric, and nutritional yeast, and raise the heat to medium. Stir constantly with a whisk. The mixture should bubble and thicken within 3 minutes.
5. Once the mixture is bubbling and thickening, stir and cook for about 2 minutes.
6. Add the lemon juice and mustard, and stir to combine.
7. Turn off the heat and cover the saucepan to keep warm until ready to use.
8. Yields ~3 cups.