Gluten Free Lasagne

Every other year my family has this big party with my relatives at my house, and the main course is always pasta- of corse! we are Italian! My mom makes like...4 home made lasagnes and this year, since there is cheese, meat sauce, and chunks of meat in it, I obviously will be left out. On top of that, the pasta is made with wheat, so I would not even be able to have any, since I've gone gluten free (WAAYYY better for your digestion). I was in the St. Lawrence market the other day with my dad, and we walked into a store with a bunch of different pastas, and I found it! Gluten free lasagne strips! The pasta is made out of rice, and I am sooo excited to try it! Here is my recipe for my lasagne..

2 boxes of lasagne
2 bags of gluten free, and soy free if you want, cheese (vegan obviously; shredded preferably)
1L of sauce or 1 can if thats what you have
Tofu strips of beef and/or chicken (optional)

First, if you do not have homemade sauce, grab a can of sauce, and do as follows. In a pan, use VERY little oil (I don't use oil if I can avoid it, however to make your sauce really tasty, use just a little) and cook one onion and 2 garlic cloves. Once they have softened, add the can of sauce (either pureed tomatoes or the chunky diced ones). Then add some basil (about 1/2 a cup). Let it cook for 15 minutes, so it absorbs all the flavour. Let the sauce cool. (IF YOU HAVE SAUCE ALREADY, PICK UP FROM HERE TOO). Take your sauce in a bowl and mix in your tofu meat strips (cut them into chunks of the size you like). I don't usually use this stuff, but it is fun for special occasions and will add some texture to the lasagne. Set the bowl aside

Start by getting a pan and measuring out how many strips you need and how you will lay them out. First decide the layout, and then stack them up until they reach about 3/4 high of the pan. That is how many layers you will need. If your pan is about 2 inches thick, aim for 4-5 layers. Cook your pasta for half the time stated on the pack. Just put the pasta in the pot of boiling water, even if they stick out, because as they soften, with a wooden mixer, you will be able to adjust them so they fit. Stir them until they are all fully in the water. Take them out and lay them on a dish flat and straight. Let them cool.

Next, put your first layer of lasagne down on the pan. Then put some sauce, and sprinkle some 'cheese'. Repeat this until you get to the top, where you put more sauce and 'cheese'. Cover the lasagne with tin foil rap and freeze it until you serve it. Cook it at 350degrees F until the cheese has melted and once the cheese has melted, continue to cook for 10 minutes. Enjoy!!


Julia