Outdoor Vegan Lasagne

Outdoor Vegan Lasagne

• 9-12 Oven Ready Lasagne Noodles 

• 2 jars Classico tomato sauce (or any preferred brand, as long as you have roughly 4-5c of tomato sauce

• Garlic (Measure with your Heart) 

• 2-3 Zucchini (Green or Yellow, it's not important.) 

• 1 Eggplant 

• 1 pkg Tofu (For smooth Ricotta, use soft-Med, for chunky Rocotta, Firm-Ex Firm) 

• 1-2 tbsp Lemon Juice (Can also use white or apple cider vinegar) 

• 1-2 tbsp Nutritional Yeast 

• Salt and Pepper 

• 4-5 Tomatoes (Avoid using beefsteak for best flavour.)

• Charcoal 

• Lighter Fluid 

• Chimney 

• Lighter/Matches 

• Slab of Cement or Stone. Or dirt. You get the idea. 

Prepare the Ricotta
For a Smooth Ricotta, blend together Soft/Silken/Medium tofu with Lemon juice/vinegar, Salt, Pepper, Garlic and Nutritional Yeast. Cover and allow to sit while preparing the remaining ingredients. 

For a Chunky Ricotta, squish together Medium/Firm/Extra firm tofu with Lemon Juice/Vinegar, salt, pepper, Garlic and nutritional yeast. Cover and allow flavour to develop while preparing the remaining ingredients. 

Prepare the Veggies 

Start with the Eggplant. Chop off its head and peel off its skin. Then, slice into strips about the width of your smallest fingernail, perhaps a little smaller. Sprinkle each slice with salt, both sides, and place somewhere the water can drip out of it. Paper towel, in a strainer, a bowl, anywhere it can drip will do fine. 

Grab your zucchini next. Chop off their heads but keep the skins on these ones. Skinless Zucchini will become a sloppy mess in the lasagne. Slice them into strips about the same thickness as the Eggplant. repeat the salt and rest with each slice then move onto the Tomatoes.        

Slice your tomatoes, season with salt and pepper. Grab your sauce and noodles and get ready. 

It's time to set something on fire. 

Charcoals take roughly 20 min to come to heat the first round. They must be refreshed every 15 minutes during the cooking process with ashes removed periodically to ensure the heat is reaching everywhere evenly. This is the moment in the cooking process one starts the fires if using charcoal. 

My 10" Dutch Oven requires 21 coals to maintain the heat of 375F required. 14 on the bottom, 7 on the top. 

Stuff the bottom of the chimney with crumpled paper, fill the top with your starter coals. (the number you need+8-10 more) Douse with a gentle amount of lighter fluid, and set your match to the pages along the bottom of the wire cage. Once it's happily smoking, return to the cauldron. 

Welcome back to your cauldron, I'm sure it's quite happy with anticipation at what you're about to do. Start with the sauce. 

1/2c Sauce 
3 Noodles
1/2c Sauce
Eggplant or Zucchini 
Ricotta
Repeat Layers alternating Zucchini with Eggplant until out of veggies and Ricotta. Roughly 3 rounds. Use the tomatoes as the top layer and seal with a lid. 

Place the Dutch Oven on the charcoals. Use your ring for support and add more coals on the lid. Refresh the coals every 15-20 min during cooking. Cook with the lid on for 45 Min. Then, remove the ring, coals, and brush off the lid. Allow to simmer and reduce for the final 10-15 min without a lid. 

Use your damn oven mitts to grab this thing, it's going to be hot. No t-shirt hems or dishtowels. Especially if they're wet, put them back. Let it sit until the bubbles stop popping at least. Then, dig in! 

Campfire Vegan Lasagne, with feta

Mise En Place

It means everything in it’s place, but can also be translated as gather your hooligans, ingredients and weaponry for organised chaos.

Knife Wielding

Begin with the slicing and dicing, making of ricotta and general silliness.

Begin the coals

Prepare your fire-pit, preheat the coals and make sure your bucket of water is somewhere it can be reached quickly, but won’t be knocked over.

Fill the Cauldron

Layer the Lasagne into the cauldron. Make sure you can still close the lid!

Bake the Lasagne

21 coals are required for my 10” dutch oven to maintain a heat of 375. 14 Bottom, 7 top. Refresh coals every 15 min. Bake for 45-55 min with lid on.

Final Touches

Remove the lid for the last 10-15 min of baking, add feta if using.

This dish tastes best when shared. 

This was my first time using charcoal to cook in about a year. I had forgotten how much I loved the experience, the closeness I need to be when cooking meals over a campfire. I’m looking forward to doing more outdoor cooking, posting the recipes and mishaps for all to see.

I hope this recipe gets shared and made again. If you do get inspired, Please share your results or personal touches! I’d love to see them!

Safe travels my wanderers. It’s weird out there.
Your Goblin,
Gray