Lasagna takes time. But that time is well spent because the reward is lasagna.

Hunt down @cheezeandthankyou and buy her black garlic mozz. I used that and kite hill ricotta. You can use other vegan mozz, but it probably won’t be as good. But if you’re located elsewhere, you are forgiven. A link to her page is listed below.

As always, if you dig the recipe, tag me at @draggedthroughthegarden on instagram so I can personally tell you I think that you are doing a great job.

Black Garlic Mozzarella Lasagna. I require lasagna, Jon.

BLACK GARLIC MOZZ LASAGNA

prep time: 30 minutes
cook time: 70 minutes

Layers upon layers of delicious carbs and other things.

Get out your meat substitute and let it defrost. Because first, you gotta make a sauce.

What you'‘ll need:

olive oil
vegan butter
shallot (or red onion)
garlic
salt
pepper
oregano
tomato (beefsteak preferably)
arrabbiata sauce
tomato paste
patience

Dice up your shallot and mind your eyes. Onion works fine too. Mince up some garlic too. As much as you want. The more the better. Don’t add all of it to the pot because some of it will be utilized later.

Get out a big pot and toss about three tablespoons of vegan butter in there. Normally I use miyoko’s but she still hasn’t hooked me up with a sponsorship so today it’s earth balance w/ olive oil. Keep the flame below medium so you don’t burn your garlic or your shallot…or onion. Throw a nice pull of olive oil in there too and mix it around. Add salt, pepper and about two teaspoons of oregano.

Here are those things again, but in a pot!

Let it simmer some and then add tomato paste and Arrabbiata sauce. Then dice up your tomato and throw that in there too. Bring the flame up a little bit after you add these things and throw a lid on the pot. While your sauce cooks out, you can prepare the other layers of your lasagna.

Here are the kinds of saucy stuff I used.

Now that your sauce is cooking, we can start with your protein. Any type of ground substitute works fine. I really like the Meatless Farm brand. Beyond works too.

What you’ll need:

the remaining garlic and shallot from earlier
plant-based protein
salt
pepper
olive oil
vegan butter
cumin
coconut aminos
oregano
black garlic mozz (via @cheezeandthankyou. or just black garlic and vegan mozz)

Assuming your protein is defrosted, oil a pan and keep the heat low. add your garlic and shallot (or onion) from earlier. Add your protein into the pan and mix it with the garlic and shallot as best as you can.

Turn up the heat and then add vegan butter. Season with salt, pepper, cumin and oregano. Add about two tablespoons of coconut aminos. Let it cook out and prepare your vegan mozz. Again, I sourced mine from @cheezeandthankyou but if you cannot, mince down some black garlic and combine it with vegan mozz. To soften the cheese a little bit, put it in a container and microwave for about 15-20 seconds.

Once your protein is all cooked, transfer three fourths of it into a bowl. The remaining fourth will go right into your sauce you are currently simmering. Let the protein rest in the bowl for a minute and then throw half of your mozz into there and mix it up. If you have gloves on hand, use gloves and mix it with your hands.

The protein mixture with a some of the cheese mixture

Your next layer is easy. Spinach and ricotta.

What you’ll need

spinach
ricotta

Rip up a bunch of spinach and mix it with vegan ricotta. I used kite hill. And again, if you have gloves to use, use them and it will make your life easier.

Now finally, we can assemble your lasagna in whole. This part also requires patience. But again, in the end, you are awarded with lasagna. Preheat your oven to 350°.

What you’ll need:

the aforementioned mixtures
lasagne
olive oil
butter
a casserole dish
tin foil

Take your casserole dish and put some olive oil in it. Coat the inside of the dish as much as humanly possible. Add some vegan butter and do the same thing. This is so your lasagna won’t get stuck to the sides and get all gross.

In a strainer, put your lasagne pasta in it and run hot water on it. You’re using the no-boil method because you want the lasagne to cook out within the sauce itself. Once your pasta is less starchy, add them to the bottom of your casserole dish to create a layer. If you need to trim the pasta down a little bit, that’s fine. I used scissors.

Now upon your first layer of pasta, add your mozz. This will function as a delicious adhesive for the above layers.

Next, turn the flame off your sauce and add that right atop your mozz layer.

Quick disclaimer: if your sauce seems too runny, even after adding the protein to it, sift a little bit of flour into there. Oat flour would be my call.

Then atop your saucy layer, add your spinach ricotta mix.

Now add one more layer of lasagne as pictured above.

After that, add your protein/mozz mixture and then add more sauce. You can add a little more cheese if you would like.

Cover it with foil and pop it in the oven for an hour.

Disclaimer Two: If after an hour, the lasagna is still soupy, let it rest in the fridge overnight and it will be perfect the next day. Just have snacks ready in the meantime.

After an hour, remove the foil and switch the oven setting to broil and let it cook for a few more minutes.

Let the lasagna rest, whether for thirty minutes or overnight if you have to.

I went this entire recipe without saying the word “Garfield.”

Did I crack in because I was impatient? Or was it so I could showcase the layers?

Here’s a link to @cheezeandthankyou. Go get some vegan cheese from her.