EVERYTHING COLOURFUL SALAD

I declare that "Spring is finally here"; I say finally because at last something has bloomed in my garden - tulips. Big day for me since I have been eyeing all the opened tulips in the neighbourhood as I take our dog for his daily walk. "Do they fertilize, do they have better sun exposure or have I bungled up the hardiest of perennials" ? are thoughts that I wrestle with during every outing. So as I proudly took pictures of our first blooms of 2015, I tried not to dwell too much on the fact that my weeds are probably crying out for my attention too.
Pardon the digression, I must get back to my Everything Colourful Salad. What better time than spring to make a salad that is bursting with the colours and flavours of the season. I made this salad on Saturday and we had leftovers for breakfast today with a hard boiled egg. A perfect protein rich salad that is not just easy to make and healthy, it tastes good too. My recipe used the vegetables I had but feel free to substitute. I made a dressing with pomegranate molasses that my dear friend M brought back from Iran. I have also used "Magiun de prune" to make this dressing and it is just as delicious. Now "Magiun" for my non Romanian readers is a plum paste like jam made using a sweet plum variety that is cooked down for up to 10 hours without adding any sugar. The result is a thick, dark purple paste that is slightly sweet and sour. We bought a jar from the local Romanian deli and I must admit I got a real kick out of seeing a label with just one ingredient on it - Plums.
This is the ideal "cut up and pack for a couple of days" salad, add dressing when serving. I layered this is a deep dish and used it over the weekend and the leftovers this morning for breakfast. Put in individual containers to pack into lunch boxes with some dressing on the side. Play with colours, enjoy your salad : >


Skill Level: Easy 

Serves: 4 to 5 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup cooked quinoa 
• 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 2 medium sized carrots, thinly sliced 
• 1 red bell pepper chopped into small pieces 
• 2 stalks celery chopped into small pieces 
• 11/2 cup chopped red kale
• 2 tbsp crumbled feta (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing:

• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 1 tbsp  honey
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 3-4 tbsp warm water (the molasses and the honey make it quite thick)
• salt and pepper to taste 

METHOD: 

1. Wash and cook quinoa 1/2 cup cooked in 1 cup of water. (I usually cook 1 cup so extras can be added to other salads, soups or used as a side )
2. Put the cooked chickpeas in a food processor and pulse until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs (if using canned, drain liquid, rinse thoroughly and pat dry before pulsing in the food processor)
3. Wash and slice carrots, chop pepper and celery. Cut up the kale
4. To make the dressing add all the ingredients together and mix well until combined. Add water to thin out as needed. Check seasoning
5. If serving immediately add the quinoa to the vegetables and toss with the dressing. Crumble feta and add if using.

Easy Stir-Fry with Egg Tofu

Egg tofu is similar to a regular tofu but with whole egg added to give creamy and silky texture. It comes in tube and can be found in Asian grocery stores. My mother usually adds them in stir-fries and Indonesian-style spicy dish with preserved soybean paste called tauco. Traditionally, egg tofu is deep fried to create a crispy-brown skin. However, I improvise the cooking method to pan-fry with little oil. Tofu contains a lot of moisture and deep frying it is one messy business, trust me and you don't want to do that. I pan-fry the egg tofu slices in a non-stick frying pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil. The result? Still the same crisp-brown skin texture.
 
The beauty of a stir-fry is that you can use up whatever left-over vegetables in your fridge and still able to turn them into a beautiful dish with a robust-flavoured sauce. This dish is one of the examples. 









Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 4 to 5 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups snow peas (about 60 pieces)
• 1 medium sized carrots, sliced 
• 2 packets (245 g each) of egg tofu, sliced into 1 cm thick
• 1 cup cabbage 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
  

Sauce:

• 1 tbsp oyster flavoured sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 dashes of fish sauce (optional)
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) water
• 1/4 tbsp corn starch

METHOD: 

1. In a non-stick frying pan, spray cooking oil evenly. Heat up the pan and once hot, add egg tofu slices and cook for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Gently, flip the egg tofu slices and pan-fry the other side until golden brown as well.Scoop and place on a plate
2. Trim the ends of snow peas and tear cabbage leaves with your hand. Rinse well 
3. In a bowl, combine all sauce ingredients and mix well 
4. Heat up a wok on high heat and add in the cooking oil. Once hot, sauté minced garlic for 30 seconds or until golden yellow
5. Add in sliced carrots, snow peas and cabbage. Stir for 3 or 4 minutes and pour in the sauce
6. Cook for another minute or so or to your preferred texture. Season with salt and black pepper to your taste
7. Add in the pan-fried egg tofu slices and stir gently not to break the tofu
8. Serve with warm rice

SAVOURY VEGGIE LOAF

My mission this morning was to make something savoury for breakfast that did not involve eggs. Of course there are hundreds of options if you are Indian but I wanted something that was not labour intensive and quick. I saw this recipe on Pinterest recently on "Tickling Palates" and changed it based on veggies I had on hand. It was better than I hoped and I enjoyed it with a bowl of yogurt. I'm curious to see if this can be gluten free so I have a pot of quinoa cooking as I write. Look on our facebook page for results and a picture of the quinoa version if it works out. 

I am sure you can change this around based on what you have in your fridge; try peppers, mushrooms, kale, spinach or grated beets. The loaf was moist, flavourful and easy to make. Do not exceed 1 cup of loosely packed zucchini because it will make the loaf too moist and difficult to cut without crumbling. This would be great as a mini muffins which would make it more portable. I'd love to hear back if anyone tries this. 

SKILL: EASY
SERVES: 4 - 6


INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup semolina (cream of wheat)
• 1 cup of yogurt (I used 2% fat)
• 1 cup grated carrots
• 1 cup grated zucchini
• 2 green onions finely chopped
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 green chili deseeded and chopped finely
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp sesame seeds

TEMPERING INGREDIENTS

• 3 Tbsps coconut oil (or any cooking oil)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped curry leaves (optional)

METHOD

1. Grease a loaf pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. Add the semolina and yogurt to a bowl, mix well
3. Grate or finely cut vegetables and add to the yogurt mixture. Add the chili, ginger and seasoning. DO NOT ADD BAKING SODA YET
4. Add oil to a saute pan. When oil is hot, add the mustard seeds; after it pops, add the cumin  and allow it to sizzle then take the pan off the heat. Add the curry leaves if using. Allow this to cool slightly before adding it to the semolina mixture
5. Stir well. Mixture will be thick depending on the moisture in the vegetables used
6. Add the baking soda and mix well. Pour into the batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 30 -35 minutes
7. Allow to cool completely before cutting
8. Serve warm 

MIXED BEAN AND KALE SOUP

The weather the last few days has been up and down, just when you think you can pack away your winter stuff, it's chilly again. And of course the quickest way to bring on snow has got to be by packing up your winter boots. That's precicely what happened over the Easter weekend. I put away our heavy winter boots on Friday and Saturday night it snowed with a fair amount of accumulation. There is our dog running around the deck confused after all these snow free days. Maybe it was not packing away the boots as much as it was using our BBQ for the first time this year a few days ago. 

Cold weather begs for a warm bowl of soup and what better choice than protein and nurient dense legumes and kale. This one pot, ok really two pot meal because I sauteed onions, garlic and ginger before adding it to my instant pot (electric pressure cooker) was ready in half an hour. 

This tastes even better the next day. So make a pot and maybe the soup can chase away the cold days



SKILL: EASY
SERVES : 3 - 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup of bean and barley soup mix soaked for 3 hours (what I used looked like in this picture, you can also mix up your own)
• 1 large onion sliced
• 2 cups of chopped kale
• 2 bay leaves
• 10 - 12 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• 2 inch piece of ginger chopped
• 1 vegetable boullion cube
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• lemon juice to taste
• 4 - 5 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 cups water

METHOD

1. Saute onions and ginger to 2 Tbsp of olive oil to a hot pan. Add bay leaves
2. Drain soaking water from the soup mix and add it to the onions and stir
3. Season with pepper, salt, cayenne and add vegetable bouillon cube
4. Add finely chopped kale to the pan and pour in 4 cups of boiling water
5. Transfer to the instant pot if using or reduce the heat, cover and simmer till the barley and beans have been cooked. I have used a pressure cooker as well for two whistles.
6. While the soup is boiling, heat the remaining olive oil in a saute pan; add the chopped garlic and turmeric and fry until slightly dark and fragrant
7. Garnish with fried garlic and add lemon juice to taste 

CARROT POMEGRANATE SALAD

And as promised here is the recipe for this very simple but delicious salad. Stay vibrant, eat colourfully :)

Skill : Easy
Serves : 2-3
INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup carrot grated
• 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
• 2 Tbsp dessicated coconut
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
• salt to taste

METHOD

1. Add carrots, coriander, coconut and lemon juice to a bowl and mix 
2. Toss with pomegranate seeds and season to taste

HEARTY SOUP WITH SAVOURY SPIRALS

Soup became a regular feature in my diet when I lived in Europe where it was consumed daily, and I certainly did not appreciate it at the time. Of course, today I get a real thrill at the endless possibilities with soup and one cannot deny that the long Canadian winters provide the ideal opportunity to serve soup as a meal. My mother-in-law makes some of the best soups I have ever tasted; I am more adventerous while she remains traditional in her creations. 

As winter seems to have made an early appearance this year, with snow flurries on Halloween and a light dusting yesterday, soup seemed like the perfect choice for a Sunday lunch. Murphy's Law at it's finest, the sun shone brightly and laughed at my choice but I enjoyed putting this vegetarian soup together for lunch. A big batch of soup, the kitchen warm from the sun, the smell of olive spirals baking and friends around the table made for a beautiful Sunday afternoon. 

This is really easy and contrary to my usual routine of soaking legumes, I used canned chickpeas which really sped up the cooking process. Soup's on. Enjoy!

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 6 - 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 leeks thinly sliced
• 4 medium zucchini chopped
• 2 1/2 cups finely chopped spinach
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 x 796 mL can diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning 
• 1 x 456 g can chickpeas
• 1 x 398 mL can corn
• 2 L vegetable stock (I added three vegetable cubes to hot water)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp herbes de provence
• 2 tsp red chili flakes 
• 3/4 tbsp hot Hungarian paprika powder
• 8 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• serve with crusty bread or olive spirals (recipe below)

METHOD:

1.Heat oil in a saucepan. Add bay leaves, garlic, leeks, zucchini and corn and saute for 5 minutes

2. Add chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, chickpeas, spices and the vegetable stock. cook for 5-7 minutes  

3. Add the shredded spinach and heat for 2 minutes 
4. Remove the bay leaf and serve hot with crusty bread or better yet with olive spirals (recipe below) 

SAVOURY SPIRALS

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 1/4 tsp (7g) dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cup warm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 cups plain white flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 250 g pitted black olives 
• 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan
• 3 cloves chopped garlic

METHOD:

1. Mix sugar, yeast and 1/2 a cup of warm water in a bowl. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes or until frothy
2. Sift flour and salt into a bowl, make a well in the centre and add 1 Tbsp oil, frothy yeast and the remaining cup of warm water. Mix into a smooth dough ball. Turn onto a board and knead until smooth
3. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and set aside for 1 hour
4. Process the olives, parmesan and garlic in the food processor, with the motor still running, add the remaining Tbsp of olive oil and mix till you get a smooth paste
5. Once the dough has risen, punch down and knead for 1 minute. Roll out to a rectangle, spread the olive paste on the dough leaving a strip along one of the sides
6. Roll up lengthways until you have a log. Cut into 14 slices and place close together on a greased baking sheet. 
7. Cover with a dampl tea towel and set aside for another 30 minutes until well risen
8. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Bake for 30 minutes until golden brown

Nutty Eggplant Dip

It feels like spring is trying really hard to show itself. We are at the end of April and my tulips are mere leaves with the promise of flowers sometime in the near future. In the hopes that seeing patio furniture would change the weather, we brought out our BBQ and deck chairs over this weekend, but it did not work - the temperature today is a mere 10 degrees C/50 degrees F. But, since the BBQ is ready, I put on some eggplant and garlic and decided to make a dip that I saw in Canadian Living recently. The dip is light and has a good blend of flavours and is smple to make. One of these days, (hopefully real soon), the weather will be warm and when you sit out on the deck with a cold beer, this will be an appetizer to try with pita or crackers, but for now, let me go and put away my patio chair cushions since they are calling for rain tonight and tomorrow.
Happy spring !!!

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 6 - 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup walnuts soaked in water for 8 hours (this makes the walnuts less astringent)
• 1 can chickpeas (540 mL)
• 1 clove of garlic grilled
• 2 large eggplants grilled
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tsp za'atar powder *
• 4 Tbsp Tahini
• 2 Tbsp chopped clilantro or parsley

*Za'atar is a Middle Eastern seasoning made using ground thyme, oregano, marjoram, salt, sumac and toasted sesame. Available in Middle Eastern stores but is easy to make at home by combining the following:

• 1/4 cup sumac
• 2 tablespoons thyme
• 1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons marjoram
• 2 tablespoons oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients together. Store in an airtight container for up to 6 months

METHOD:

1. Wash and dry eggplants. Pierce the eggplants and place on the BBQ and grill until soft. Remove and allow to cool

2. Cut the top of a clove of garlic and wrap it in foil and grill for approximately 15 minutes. Cool before using
3. Drain water from the walnuts and spread onto a cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes at 300 degrees F turning once until they are dry and toasted

3. Cut and scoop out the eggplant and put into the food processor, add the drained and rinsed chickpeas, and peeled garlic and mix until it is well belended.

4. Add toasted walnuts, lemon juice, tahini, spices and salt and pulse until it is mixed

5. Refrigerate for an hour. Garnish with cilantro and serve with pita or crackers

Butternut Squash Soup with Quinoa

Can you believe we have more than 100 recipes on this blog now? Isn't that awesome? We'd like to thank you, our readers, for supporting us. To our family and friends who are always there, thank you for tasting our food and nagging us with a line "You must share this on your blog!". Well, this soup is one of them.

It's been bitterly cold here in Toronto, Ontario - Canada. May I repeat? Too cold! Never in my 12 years living in Canada, have I ever experienced a deep freeze temperature (-20 Celsius and lower) for a consecutive of 15 to 20 days. Even my son who is 18 months now, blurted his frustration our of the blue one morning "Cold, cold. No more. I no like!". My full-time work is getting busier and I spend quite a few time late in the office till 7 pm. I keep telling myself that it's just a phase and when the weather gets warmer in about a month, things will get better. I keep my fingers crossed. Then, at home, I have been challenged by the most difficult food critic ever! Baby A. Ever since he was 5 months, he had never been picky at all. He ate peas, kale, pumpkins, anything green and yellow you can think of, including rapinis which are bitter. Well, he is now a changed toddler. He starts picking out his peas or any vegetables that are not soft-cooked. I am not sure if it is just a phase or perhaps, he's getting his molars? But then that never stops me cooking vegetables for him. Dinner for him is what's served on the table or no more dinner and he will go to bed hungry.

Warm soups are comforting and I grew up drinking bowls and bowls of soup every day. I made this soup out of ingredients that were available in my fridge at the time. I added quinoa to make it filling and to provide added protein for the little guy's growing needs. With the addition of quinoa, the soup is not as smooth as regular butternut squash soup. However, it is equally good and it fills us up without adding bread (more carbs) into our diet. 

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 6 - 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 ribs of celery, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced 
• 3 cups chicken broth (replaced with vegetable broth for vegetarian option) 
• 5 cups water 
• 1 medium-large sized butternut squash (about 9 cups of cubed squash)
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 cup uncooked quinoa 
• Salt and pepper, to taste 
• Half & half cream (optional)

METHOD: 

1. In a pot, melt 3 tbsp of butter and sautee onions and garlic for 3 minutes 
2. Add in butternut squash and celery, cook at high heat for 5 minutes till the squash develops slight golden colour 
3. Add in the broth, water, bay leaves, salt and pepper 
4. Close the lid, boil at high heat and then lower to low-medium 
5. Boil for another 30 minutes
6. In the meantime, rinse quinoa in a strainer 
7. Add in the quinoa and boil for another 20 minutes 
8. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if required 
9. Turn off the heat and let the soup cool down for an hour 
10. Discard the bay leaves, transfer to a blender and puree till smooth 
11. Serve the soup with cream drizzled on top 

Portobello Mushroom Soup

This is truly a winter that feels like no sooner than we put the shovel away, it is time to bring it out again. As we brace ourselves for yet another round of snow, spring feels like such a distant memory and endless pots of tea, soups and stews have become a staple. And speaking of soups, several weeks ago we had dinner at a friend's house and were served a delicious mixed mushroom soup with portobello, shitake and crimini mushrooms. Here is my version based on what I had on hand. Talking to my mum this evening, I got a recipe for savoury quinoa muffins and again, juggled ingredients and replaced it with what I had and dinner turned out rather good. So here it is, a mish mash that worked out. Savoury muffin recipe to follow. Enjoy!

Skill Level: Easy
Serves: 4 - 6

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 large portobello mushrooms (approx. 250 g)
• 400 g sliced  crimini mushrooms 
• 2 medium sized red onions coarsely chopped
• 4 cups water
• 2 Tbsp 10 % cream 
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 3/4 Tbsp coconut oil 
• 1 tsp of yogurt (optional)
• red chili flakes (optional)

METHOD: 

1. Add oil to a large saucepan, when oil is hot put in the bay leaves, chopped onions and stir until transparent

2. Add sliced mushrooms, pepper  and salt and saute until all the liquid has evaporated

3. Transfer to a deep pot, remove the bay leaves, add water and using an immersion blender, puree the mushroom onion mixture till smooth

4. Check seasoning, serve hot with a tsp of yogurt and chili flakes (optional)

Baklava

Those of you who follow us know that I recently tried my luck with phyllo dough and found it to be a lot less daunting than I had imagined. On the heels of my apple strudel success, I ventured into baklava making. Making it for the sixth time to get it blog worthy, I suggest you make this when you are expecting company, otherwise, it is easy to devour the entire lot before you know it and really, who wants all that guilt .....  
I say again, do not be afraid of using phyllo; it dries out very quickly so be sure to cover it with a damp tea towel. Some sheets tear but it all works out once it is rolled. The reason I made it as many times as I did was to get the knack of rolling and squishing it to get the creased look. If you want to skip the rolled variety, then you can layer three sheets, spread nuts on top and layer with another three sheets and then cut them into diamond shapes. I have not tried this so cannot give any clear directions. 
I also lined up the logs in a pie plate and made a coil which was rather pretty but we ate that before we thought of taking any pictures. I spooned the syrup over the top but that created a soggy finished product and also ended up topping the baklava with walnuts that had oozed out of the baklava. (See the picture of the cut baklava below; tasted good but did not look great). 
After the first couple of times you make it, you realize how easy it is and I guarantee you will never buy baklava again, it really is that simple. I have made it using walnuts and almonds. I liked the almonds, my husband preferred walnuts. Experiment and have fun with pistachios, cashews or pecans. 

Skill Level: Patience required. 

Serves: 10 - 12

INGREDIENTS:

 For the baklava filling

• 4 cups of almonds finely chopped 
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp cardamom powder
• 2 Tbsp rose water 
• 12 phyllo sheets (thawed out - room temperature for about 2 hours)
• 1 1/4 cups melted unsalted butter

For the syrup

• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 cup water
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp rose water

METHOD: 

1. Take your store bought phyllo dough out of the freezer and let it thaw out at room temperature for an hour and a half to two hours

2. In a food processor, pulse almonds until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Transfer to a bowl and add sugar, rose water and cardamom powder; mix together and set aside

3. Remove the phyllo shhets from the box and unroll it. Make sure you cover the sheets with a damp kitchen towel 

4. Melt butter and put it in a bowl

5. Take one sheet of phyllo and brush melted butter on the entire surface. Place a second sheet of phyllo over the first and brush with butter. Make sure to cover the phyllo sheets each time, it dries out very quickly. Do not worry if the corners of the sheet tear

6. When the two overlapping sheets have been buttered, spoon the nut mixture on to 2/3 of the sheet - covering the area farthest from you. Keep the side close to you empty because this is where you will start to roll to make the log

7. Carefully roll from the area closest to you going towards the part with the nut mixture, until you have a log. Gently, squeeze the roll from the two ends towards the middle, so you get creases in the log. Brush with melted butter and place seam side down into the baking dish

8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

9. Proceed with the next phyllo sheet,  repeat until nut mixture is all used up*

10. Once all the baklava logs are in the baking dish, bake for 45 - 50 minutes till golden brown

11. While the baklava is baking, make the sugar syrup. Add sugar and water to a pot and stir until the sugar dissolves, add lemon juice and rose water and allow it to thicken about 5 - 7 minutes. You can use less lemon juice if you want a sweeter tasting baklava, I like the tartness you get with the lemon juice and it cuts the cloying sweetness  

12. Remove from the oven, pour the syrup over the baked baklava and allow it to cool for about 3 - 4 hours. Cut when completely cooled. 
The syrup will pool on the base. Resist the urge to do what I did - which was to tilt the dish and spoon the syrup on top -as it will make the baklava soft. If you let it rest for the required time, you will have a crisp, flaky baklava

*I made five logs, the sixth did not have as much of the nut mixture as the others

Vegetarian Lasagna sans Pasta

I realized something today - that it is a lot harder to take an attractive picture of a lasagna than it is to make one. This could also mean that I am a better cook than a photographer, but my very fancy camera may take offense so I let me get on with the recipe. I took pictures along the process so you can see the step by step and that is in no way because you do not know how to layer a lasagna but merely my way of trying to show you that the effort is worth it. It really does taste a lot better than I have been able to photograph, so please excuse this wordy, picture filled post and focus on the end result.
So, the much hyped about pastaless lasagna came out of the oven a couple of hours ago, we took pictures, ate it (of course), packed a slice to freeze, so I can tell you if that works out and selected photographs and now I am putting pen to paper (actually, fingers to keybard  - you get the idea).
This is a labour intensive recipe so I suggest that you do some preprep to make things easier. This recipe is a creation that came out of wanting to make a dish that is gluten free, egg free, grain free, vegetarian and a filling meal. I looked up alternatives to pasta and grains and found recipes using zucchini or eggplant. I love eggplant, so it was a clear choice for me. I wanted to create my own version of a pasta sauce adding more vegetables so while I will give you my version, feel free to substitute store bought pasta sauce. To make this egg free, I used 1 Tbsp of ground flax seeds to 3 Tbsp of warm water as a substitute.
I highly recommend taking the time to do this in two parts, it makes it easier. Our verdict - the lasagna actually tasted better today than a few weeks ago when we made it for the first time.

Skill Level: Time consuming

Serves: 6 - 8 

INGREDIENTS:

For the lasagna

• 3 medium size eggplants 
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Salt to taste
• 500 g sliced portobello mushrooms 
• 1 medium onion sliced
• 300 g extra smooth ricotta cheese (1 tub)
• 1 cup frozen spinach (water squeezed out)
• 1 Tbsp ground flax or ground chia seeds + 3 Tbsp warm water (or 1 egg)
• 1 cup shredded mozarella cheese

For the sauce

• 2 cups carrot grated
• 3 cups diced tomatoes (use tomatoes and liquid)
• 3 T tomato paste
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 shallots sliced
• 11/2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp herbes de provence (contains marjoram, oregano, thyme and rosemary)
• 2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 2 tsp chili flakes (optional)
• 1/4 cup of water

METHOD:

1. Peel and slice eggplants lengthwise. Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and place on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees F for 8 - 10 minutes until soft. Mid way, take out and flip eggplant over so both sides are browned. Depending on the thickness of the eggplant and the oven, some pieces may burn. Keep checking. Lay them on a tray to cool. I did this step yesterday and put them in a container in the fridge until today
2. Add 11/2 Tbsp olive oil to a pan, saute onion until transparent, add sliced mushrooms a cook until all water has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside
3. Mix the ground flax seed and warm water, allow it to thicken (2-3  minutes); to the flax add the spinach (make sure to squeeze out excess water) and ricotta cheese. Mix well and set aside. (If using an egg add it to ricotta and spinach and mix well)
4. For the sauce : Add 1 1/2 Tbsp oil to the pan and add crushed garlic to the oil, stir until fragrant, saute shallots until transparent. Add 3 Tbsp of tomato paste and stir well for a minute or two. Add grated carrots, herbes de provence and season with pepper, salt and chili flakes (if using).
5. Add 3 cups of diced tomatoes to the carrot onion mixture, crush the tomato pieces so the chunks gets smaller. Check seasoning and add the 1/4 cup of water and allow to simmer. The mixture will be thick, chunky and spreadable
6. Alternatively, use 4 cups of your favourite pasta sauce and skip steps 4 and 5
7. To layer ( I used a 11" x 7" dish) : Spread a tbsp of sauce to cover the dish and layer eggplant over it. Cut eggplant slices as needed as you would lasagna sheets
8. On top of this layer, spoon the ricotta
   
   spinach mix and spread it over the eggplant and then put a layer of eggplant over the cheese mixture - like in the picture
9. Add more sauce on top of the eggplant and then add the mushrooms. Top that with a layer of eggplant and then spread the final layer of sauce and then the grated cheese

10. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35 - 40 minutes until the cheese is all gooey and
      bubbly. Enjoy!