12147 about 2 hours about an hour 12 servings Sun Jun 29 23:59:22 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 29 23:59:22 -0700 2008 Medium Italian User http://www.chow.com/recipes/12147 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:59:22 GMT I was at a loss on what to serve for a friend’s birthday-she and another guest are allergic to gluten, and another guest is vegan. I wanted to make a hearty casserole that would serve at least 8, and could bake while I enjoyed spending time with my guests. This was a big hit-even my boyfriend (a total carnivore) loved it!

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thaw spinach and squeeze out liquid, set aside. wash potatoes, prick each with a fork, microwave 2 min, turn over and micro for 2 more min, allow to cool several minutes. thinly slice (about 1/4” thick). OR if you are using polenta, just thinly slice it. set aside

1. ‘Ricotta’ squeeze excess liquid out of the extra firm tofu. put in a food processor with the 6 whole garlic cloves, 6 T. olive oil, 2 tsp. oregano and about 2 tsp salt. pulse until pureed. set aside
2. veggie mixture in a large skillet, heat the olive oil and melt half the vegan butter. add one of the minced onions. sweat for about 3 minutes. add garlic salt and pepper. sautee for about 30 sec. add mushrooms and sautee until they begin to wilt. add a couple T wine, reduce and continue to sautee until the mushrooms are done (about 5 min). stir in spinach. set aside.
3. sauce in lg skillet, heat olive oil and melt vegan butter. add the other minced onion, sweat for a couple minutes. add the red bell pepper and chili flakes. continue to sautee on medium heat until onions become translucent (about 5 mn). add garlic, sautee 30 sec. add 1/2 c. wine. reduce wine by about half. add pureed tomatoes, salt and pepper. simmer for 5-10 min. add basil. in a bowl, puree silken tofu with soy creamer-use more or less creamer to get the correct consistency-it should be just a bit thicker than melted ice cream or ranch dressing. add the pureed mixture to the sauce, them melt a few more T. vegan butter in the sauce and whisk to combine. then puree all of the sauce with either an immersion blender or in batches in a food processor . adjust seasoning to taste—add more salt and pepper if needed.
4. in a large, deep baking dish layer half the potatoes or polenta. top with half the ‘ricotta’ mixture, half the mushrooms and spinach and half the sauce, repeat. cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour—until hot and bubbly and the potatoes are soft when a knife is inserted. garnish with basil leaves.

]]> http://www.chow.com wigglepuppy 50 Main 2 packages frozen spinach (excess liquid squeezed out)

]]> 2 bricks extra firm tofu (excess liquid squeezed out)

]]> 12 cloves of garlic (6 whole for the ‘ricotta’, 3 minced for the sauce, 3 minced for the spinach/mushrm mixture)

]]> 2 tsp dried oregano

]]> 12 T olive oil (6 for the ‘ricotta’ 3 for sauce, 3 for spinach/mushroom mixture)

]]> 2.5 lbs yukon gold potatoes or 2 tubes of prepared polenta

]]> 2 pints of mushrooms, sliced

]]> 2 large yellow onions, minced

]]> 8 T vegan butter (for for the sauce, 4 for the spinach/mushrooms)

]]> 1 red bell pepper, minced

]]> 1/2 c. wine plus a few T.

]]> 1 T crushed red chili flakes (optional)—or more if you like

]]> 1 brick silken tofu

]]> about 1/3 c. soy creamer (i used silk brand ‘original’)

]]> 1 c. fresh basil leaves

]]> salt and pepper to taste

]]> lg. can pureed tomatoes (28 oz or whatever)

]]> 332 vegan 435 vegetarian 10053 gluten free