Roasted Cauliflower Lasagna Recipes

LASAGNA WITH SPICY ROASTED CAULIFLOWER

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut away the bottom of the cauliflower stem and trim off the leaves. Cut the cauliflower into slices 1/3 inch thick, letting the florets on the edges fall off. Toss all of it, including the bits that have fallen away, with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on the baking sheet in an even layer. Roast for about 15 minutes, stirring and flipping over the big slices after 8 minutes, until the slices are tender when pierced with a paring knife and the small florets are nicely browned. Remove from the oven, toss with the red pepper flakes and set aside. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
• Blend the ricotta cheese, water or stock, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Set aside.
• Oil a rectangular baking dish and spread a spoonful of tomato sauce over the bottom. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Spoon a thin layer of the ricotta mixture over the noodles. Top with a layer of cauliflower, then a layer of tomato sauce and a layer of Parmesan. Repeat the layers, ending with a layer of lasagna noodles topped with tomato sauce and Parmesan.
• Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and place in the oven. Bake 40 minutes, until the noodles are tender and the mixture is bubbling. Uncover and, if you wish, bake another 10 minutes, until the top begins to brown. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Toss the cauliflower in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Spread the florets in an even layer on a baking sheet and roast, tossing once, until tender and golden brown in spots, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool slightly.
• Put the tomatoes in a medium bowl and use your hands to crush them. Rinse the can with 1 1/2 cups water and add it to the bowl of tomatoes.
• Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil with 4 cloves sliced garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small Dutch oven over medium heat until the garlic begins to sizzle and becomes aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring, until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir to incorporate, about 30 seconds. Add the crushed tomatoes with their juice and 4 large leaves of basil. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened, about 40 minutes. You should have about 3 3/4 cups of sauce.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop the lasagna noodles one at a time into the pot. Cook according to the package directions until al dente. Drain the noodles in a colander. Add 1 to 2 teaspoons oil to the noodles, tossing to coat to prevent them from sticking, and drape over the side of a large bowl.
• Combine the ricotta, egg, 1 1/2 cups of the roasted cauliflower and 1 chopped clove garlic in a food processor and pulse until evenly pureed. Tear the remaining basil into small pieces, add to the food processor and pulse 3 to 4 more times to chop the basil finely, but not puree. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.
• Assemble the lasagna: Spread a thin layer of sauce (around 1/4 cup) on the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Lay 4 of the noodles on the bottom, without overlapping, cutting to fit, if necessary. Spread with half of the cauliflower-ricotta mixture, followed by half of the roasted cauliflower, one-third of the tomato sauce, one-third of the mozzarella and one-third of the Parmesan. Loosely fit 3 more noodles on top of the cheese without overlapping. Spread with the remaining cauliflower-ricotta mixture, followed by the remaining roasted cauliflower, one-third more of the tomato sauce, one-third more of the mozzarella and one-third more of the Parmesan. Top with the remaining 4 lasagna noodles, cutting just to fit. Then add the remaining tomato sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake until bubbly and hot, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and cook until the cheese begins to brown, about 10 minutes more. Allow to rest for 10 minutes so the lasagna will cut more easily. Garnish with the parsley.

CAULIFLOWER LASAGNE

Steps:

• Prep:.
• Start by making the cauliflower noodles. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (Fahrenheit). Remove the leaves and core from a head of cauliflower and start chopping the cauli into small pieces. I use my knife, but you can certainly do this in a food processor. My cauliflower yielded 6 cups, shoot for that on your end so that the egg ratio is close.
• The cauliflower pieces need to be steamed; use whatever contraption you prefer. Stove-top or microwave makes no difference to me... I covered and microwaved for several minutes (about 6) until it was cooked but not total mush.
• When hot, use a potato masher or pastry cutter to break down the cauliflower. Cauliflower releases a fair amount of liquid while it cooks, so try to drain off what you can. Then add the seasonings and combine. Add the eggs last and either continue using the masher to combine or grab a spatula... whatever works for you.
• I am addicted to my silicone baking sheet and definitely recommend it, although basic parchment paper works as well, I'm told. There is no added fat (other than egg) to the cauliflower, so the sticking potential is high. Be sure to use one of the two. Spread the cauliflower dough/batter onto a large silicone baking sheet. You have to eyeball whatever baking dish you plan to use for the lasagna and think how large to spread out the cauliflower so that when you cut it in two large sections, the layers will fit squarely in the baking dish. Obviously you won't be preparing a 10×13-sized casserole dish with only 6 cups of cauliflower, so make necessary adjustments. The dish I used is your basic oval 2.8 liter corning ware baker, about 8″ x 11″ x 3″. The picture below shows a standard-sized cookie sheet (American 17″ x 12″) and the cauli was about a half inch thick.
• Bake the cauliflower for 45 minutes at 350 degrees. It needs to be a little overcooked and dried out since it will be soon layered with tomato saucy goodness.
• While the cauliflower is in the oven, we need to make the bolognese.
• Classic bolognese starts with mirepoix (carrot, onion and celery) and that's what we're going to do here. Heat a large or wide pan to medium or medium-high. This can be a dutch oven or even a large skillet. Drizzle in a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil... enough to lightly coat the bottom of the pan.
• While that comes to temp, peel and chop the carrots, dice the onion and the celery. Add those to the hot pan and sprinkle with the kosher salt and other seasonings. It will look kinda strange if you're not in the habit of building sauces in this order, but roll with it. This method gets the oils going and rehydrates the dried herbs before the tomatoes hit. Sauté for about 4-5 minutes, then add minced garlic and the sausage. Cook until the sausage has browned. The canned diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and chicken stock now joins the party. Stir and simmer for 15 minutes or so on medium-low heat. Cover if your sauce starts to dry out (or if it's splattering everywhere and making a mess of your stove).
• When the cauliflower "noodle" has finished cooking, remove from oven and transfer to a large cutting board or work surface. Depending on the size and shape of your lasagne pan and thus the size and shape of your cauli noodle, divide into two sections that will perfectly layer your lasagne. Remove the bolognese from the heat and grab your baking dish.
• To build the lasagne I layered like this:.
• 1) about a cup of sauce.
• 2) cauliflower "noodle".
• 3) half the remaining sauce.
• 4) a couple handfuls of baby spinach.
• 5) the second cauliflower "noodle".
• 6) the remaining sauce.
• Cover and bake at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. Just enough to bring everything together and for the sauce to get bubbly around the edges.
• Serve with fresh basil for a dairy-free, grain-free DELICIOUS lasagne!

CAULIFLOWER CHEESE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Pre heat oven to 180°C Cook the cauliflower and broccoli in boiling salted water for about 10 minutes.
• Soak the lasagna sheets in hot ( not boiling ) water to soften. If using fresh lasagna sheets skip this step.
• mix the creme fraiche with 3 tbsp of water anf the herbs. Season with salt and pepper.
• Brush an ovenproof dish with oil and pour in 3 tbsp of creme fraiche. line a third of the lasagna sheets, followed by half of the broccoli/cauliflower, half the ham, half the tomatoes, a third of the cheese and a third of teh creme fraiche sauce.
• Repeat the layers, finishing with a layer of pasta. Pour over remaining creme fraiche and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
• Bake for 40 minutes, then grill the top under a grill until it browns and bubbles. If you don't have a grill just bake an extra 10 minutes at 190°C.