Vegan lasagna with carrots, peppers and cashews

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• some oil for frying
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 2 carrots
• 2 bell peppers, red and yellow
• 1 tsp cane sugar
• 400 ml vegetable stock
• 1 shot of balsamic vinegar
• 120 g cashew nuts
• e.g. salt and pepper
• 40 g plant margarine, e.g. Alsan
• 40 g wheat flour
• 500 ml plant-based drink, e.g. soy, soy-rice or oat drink, cold
• 4 tbsp nutritional yeast, to taste, can also be omitted
• 150 g cheese substitute, grated
• 125 ml plant-based cream (Plant Cream Cuisine), e.g. soy or oat cream
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• Nutmeg, freshly grated
• salt and pepper
• 1 pack of lasagna plate(s), approx. 500 g
• Margarine for the mold

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes

Grate the cashews or use a hand blender to chop the cashews. These will be used for both the vegetable sauce and the béchamel sauce. Dice the bell peppers and carrots. Finely chop the garlic. Set aside one-third of the bell peppers for later. Place the remaining bell peppers, carrots, and garlic in a saucepan with plenty of olive oil and fry for about 5 minutes. Then add the brown sugar to the bottom of the pan and let it caramelize. Be careful not to let it burn! Once the sugar has caramelized sufficiently, stir everything together and deglaze with the vegetable stock. Simmer until the bell peppers and carrots are soft. Remove the vegetable sauce from the heat and add the balsamic vinegar, about two-thirds of the cashews, salt, and pepper. Blend with a hand blender until smooth. Return to the heat and bring to a boil. Add the remaining diced bell peppers. Season to taste, and the vegetable sauce is ready. For the béchamel sauce, melt the margarine in a separate saucepan. Add the flour and sweat briefly while stirring. Deglaze with the cold plant-based milk, add the plant-based cream, and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and lemon juice, and add the remaining cashews. Remove from the heat and, if desired, add the nutritional yeast and vegan cheese to the béchamel sauce and mix well. To layer the lasagna, start with the béchamel sauce. Place a layer of pasta sheets on top. Spread a layer of vegetable sauce on top, then add more béchamel sauce. Continue in this process until all of the pasta is used up. Finish with a layer of vegetable sauce and béchamel sauce. Bake in an oven preheated to 180°C (top and bottom heat) for about 45-50 minutes on the middle rack, until the top layer is browned. Serves 2-4, depending on how hungry you are.