Vegan four-layer casserole with béchamel sauce

Ingredients for 10 servings:

• 1 kg potatoes
• 1 pack of cheese substitute (cheddar style)
• Margarine, vegan
• Salt
• 800 g tofu, natural
• 2 m.-large carrot(s)
• 1 eggplant(s)
• 1 zucchini
• 1 large red bell pepper(s)
• 200 g mushrooms
• 7 Pepper, fresh
• 2 large onions, red
• 1 bulb(s) garlic
• 1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp, heaped tomato paste
• 3 tbsp agave syrup
• 1 tsp paprika powder, hot
• ⅛ liter red wine
• 5 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp salt
• Black pepper, freshly ground
• 5 tbsp sunflower oil
• 5 m.-sized apples
• 1 m.-large onion(s), white
• 1 chili pepper(s)
• 5 tbsp raw cane sugar, brown
• ⅛ liter white wine
• 1 pinch of salt
• ½ head of white cabbage
• 2 m.-large onion(s), white
• 250 g smoked tofu
• ⅛ liter white wine
• 250 ml soy cream (Soy Cream Cuisine)
• ½ tbsp vegetable broth, instant
• Salt
• 1 tsp, heaped raw cane sugar, brown
• Black pepper, freshly ground
• nutmeg
• ½ tsp caraway powder
• 1 tbsp margarine, vegan
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 100 g margarine, vegan
• 100 g flour
• 1 liter soy milk (soy drink)
• ½ tbsp instant vegetable broth
• Salt
• nutmeg
• 2 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

Working time approx. 3 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 3 hours 40 minutes

With potatoes, tofu and vegetables, creamed white cabbage and smoked tofu, caramelized apples

This casserole is not for calorie counters, purists, or those on a minimal diet! It consists of four separate layers and a béchamel sauce. I use organic ingredients. Potatoes: Wash the potatoes thoroughly and boil them in plenty of salted water, still with their skins on. Drain, let cool, and slice. This step is best done the day before. Minced Vegetable Mix: Crumble the tofu until it has a minced, crumbly consistency. This is best done by hand. Wash and trim the vegetables, peel the onions and garlic. Dice the eggplant, zucchini, bell peppers, mushrooms, and onions. Finely grate the carrots, and finely chop the garlic, chili peppers (including seeds), and parsley. Heat 4 tablespoons of sunflower oil in a very large pan or roasting pan and first fry the tofu mince over high heat until evenly browned. Add more oil if necessary during frying. Remove the cooked tofu from the pan/roasting dish and set aside. Fry the diced vegetables in a tablespoon of sunflower oil until golden brown, then add the grated carrots and, shortly after, the chopped garlic and peppers. Return the tofu mince, mix everything together, and cook over medium heat for about another 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, paprika powder, and agave syrup and let it brown slightly in the bottom of the pan/roasting dish. Then deglaze with the red wine and let the alcohol evaporate. Add the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and parsley. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and plenty of freshly ground pepper. Caramelized apple pieces: Wash and finely dice the apples and chili pepper, peel and dice the onion. Heat the sugar in a saucepan and let it melt. Once the sugar has turned a golden brown, add the apples, chili, and onions and mix. Deglaze with white wine, stir thoroughly until the caramel has dissolved, and add a pinch of salt. Reduce the wine and the liquid released by the apples until the alcohol has evaporated and a mush-like consistency has formed. Creamed white cabbage: Clean the white cabbage and remove the stalk. Then cut the cabbage into fine strips. Peel the onions and cut them into half rings, and finely dice the smoked tofu. Heat the vegan margarine in a large saucepan and fry the white cabbage and onions in it. At the same time, heat a little sunflower oil in a pan and fry the diced smoked tofu until it has browned. Then add the smoked tofu to the cabbage and onions, reduce the heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until the cabbage has softened and browned. Deglaze with the white wine, let the alcohol evaporate, and add the soy cream, sugar, and vegetable stock powder. Bring to a boil once until the mixture thickens slightly, then season with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and caraway. The cabbage should now be pleasantly soft, but still have a bit of a bite. Béchamel sauce: Melt the vegan margarine in a saucepan, dust with flour, and sauté briefly. Then pour the (cold!) soy milk into the pan, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add the vegetable stock powder and simmer for about ten minutes to allow the flour flavor to dissipate. Be sure to keep stirring continuously, otherwise the sauce will immediately stick! Season with salt, nutmeg, and a little lemon juice. The sauce should have a sufficiently thick consistency. It should hold between the individual layers when baking and not pool at the bottom of the casserole dish. Now all that’s left to do is layer the casserole. To make this, grease a very large casserole dish with margarine and add the sliced ​​potatoes as the bottom layer. Spread about 1/3 l of béchamel sauce and half of the minced vegetable mixture on top. Then add about 1/3 l of béchamel sauce and the second half of the minced vegetable mixture. Pour about half of the remaining béchamel sauce over the top. The next layer is the caramelized apples, followed by the creamed white cabbage. Mix the cheese substitute with the remaining béchamel sauce (this will help the cheese melt better and more evenly later) and spread it over the casserole. Bake in an oven preheated to 200°C (top and bottom heat) for about 30-40 minutes, until the cheese has formed a golden crust. Savory and vegan are mutually exclusive? Think again!