Mum Helen's yummy Spaghetti Lasagna gone vegan

Yesterday was a real cooking day. It felt like I spent almost the entire day in the kitchen, cooking different things (love it!) so now I definitely know what it feels like to work as a full time chef.. Well.. Apart from the stressful environment and loads of costumers with a hundred different orders, and the fact that I could work by myself, in my own pace. I made a fruitcake with a simpel recipe that Trish gave to me, breakfast bars (that i'm gonna write a recipe to in the next blog post) and last but not least: Spaghetti Lasagna!

My mum always used to make the best Spaghetti Lasagnas when me and my brother were kids. Which is why this meal warms my childhood heart. Mum never had a particular recipe when she made the lasagna, but improvised, and me and Daniel would absolutely love it every time she made it.

Ever since I became vegan i've been saying to myself that one day i'm gonna make a veganized spaghetti lasagna, that's gonna be close enough to the one my mum used to make. And what better day to try than today, right? 

This is such a good meal to make when you crave lasagna, but don't have lasagna sheets or can't be bothered with layers and stuff, and my test panel seemed to like the outcome of my cooking. (But to be fair, two of them were probably starving from a long cycling trip and one of them is fasting during the day, so that can have something to do with how much they liked it..;)

Mum Helen's Spaghetti Lasagna Gone Vegan

Serves 7 

You'll need:

2 cups brown lentils

1 onion, finely diced

2 carrots, grated

1 red pepper, finely chopped

A handful fresh basil leaves

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 tomato, chopped

1 can chopped tomatoes (400 g)

2 tablespoons dry oregano

1 tablespoon dry rosemary

2 teaspoons grated nutmeg 

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 table spoon hot sweet and chili sauce

Mushrooms, cut up thinly

For the cheese sauce:

1 cup yeast flakes

2 tablespoons cornflour

1/2 cup chickpea flour

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup oat milk (or other plant based milk)

1 table spoon dry oregano

Black pepper and salt to taste

Spaghetti

Make it:
Put lentils to the boil until they're soft. Put some oil in a frying pan and add the onion, carrots, red pepper, salt, pepper and the basil leaves. Stir around, put on low heat and put a lid over it. Leave it for about 30 minutes to help build up the flavors. 
After 30 minutes, take off the lid and give everything a good stir. Add the lentils, tomato, chopped tomatoes, the soy sauce, sweet and chili sauce and all the dry spices. Mix well and cover it with the lid for a while again. 

Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce by putting the yeast together with the cornflour and the chick pea flour in a pan and mix well. Stir in the water and milk, a little at a time so there are no chunks. Put on high heat and stir around occasionally. Add the oregano and salt and pepper to taste and cook until the sauce has a melted cheesy texture. Put on the side for a while.

Bring spaghetti to the boil along with some olive oil and salt and drain when it is almost done. Put the spaghetti in a baking dish. Pour over the lentil mix so it covers all the pasta and cover the whole lasagna with the cheese sauce. Sprinkle the mushrooms on top and put it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes on 180 degrees.

Serve with a nice salad with avocado, olives, tomatoes and carrots and enjoooooy!