1 cup (125 mL) grape tomatoes
1 tbsp. (15 mL) olive oil
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 tsp. (5 mL) dried thyme
1 cup (250 mL) finely diced onion
1 pkg. Yves Original Veggie Ground Round
1 jar (650ml) of preferred pre-made roasted garlic and tomato sauce
2 cups (500 mL) of low sodium vegetable broth
6 oven ready whole wheat lasagna noodles
Kale Pesto
2 cups (500 mL) chopped kale, packed
1 cup (250 mL) torn basil leaves, packed
1 clove of garlic, minced
¼ cup (60 mL) olive oil
½ cup (125 mL) cashews, toasted
2 tbsp. (30 mL) fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Almond Parmesan Cheese
¼ cup (60 mL) slivered almonds, toasted
2 tbsp. (30 mL) nutritional yeast
¼ tsp. (1 mL) garlic powder
Pinch of salt
Almond Ricotta
1 cup (250 mL) slivered almonds
½ cup (125 mL) water
1 tbsp. (15 mL) nutritional yeast
2 tbsp. (30 mL) fresh lemon juice
Salt to taste
Kale Pesto: In a large food processor, blend kale, basil leaves, garlic, olive oil, cashews, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to use.
Almond Parmesan Cheese: In a small food processor, pulse together toasted almonds, nutritional yeast, garlic powder and salt until it resembles coarse powder; set aside.
Almond Ricotta: in a small food processor, blend almonds, water, nutritional yeast and lemon juice until the texture is thick. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
In a large cast iron skillet set over medium high heat, grape tomatoes, cook until tomatoes are soft and blistered, about 4 minutes. Stir in olive oil, garlic, thyme and onions and sauté until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in Yves Ground Round, tomato sauce and vegetable broth. *use the vegetable broth to clean out tomato sauce jar*
Reduce heat to medium. Break noodles into thirds and gently submerge into sauce. Cover skillet with a lid; cook sauce and noodles for 20 minutes. After 10 minutes check noodles and give everything a stir. Cover and continue to cook for the remaining 10 minutes.
Once noodles are cooked through, dollop desired amount of kale pesto and almond ricotta on top. Cover and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from heat and garnish with fresh basil leaves and almond parmesan.
Kale pesto, Almond Ricotta and almond Parmesan can be made 2 days in advance and stored in air-tight containers in the fridge until ready to use. This will cut down on your prep time making this an easy fast meal during the week.
