On the heels of Halloween I was in the mood for comfort food last night. Pasta first came to mind (pesto-dressed pasta in fact) but I didn’t have any fresh basil since we’re at the point where we need to dig out our garden and prepare for “winter” (as much as there can be winter on the West Coast!). Soup came to mind next, but I have been making soups lately and the kids have been starting to protest, lol.  What I settled on was Lasagna Soup – all the hearty flavour of a traditional-style lasagna with the convenience of preparing a soup 😉​.

If you’re craving Italian  but don’t have the time (or patience) to make a complicated meal you’ll want to try out this recipe. The pairing of sweet tomatoes, basil-herb sautéed ground round and savoury parmesan cheese in this Lasagna Soup is next to none and rivals the “real thing”. For best results use fresh on-the-vine tomatoes and/or cherry tomatoes. I didn’t have any fresh basil, but next time I make this I would definatley use it to infuse its sweet, aromatic flavor. If you don’t have lasagna noodles on hand you could always substitute with another pasta shape of your choice —  galleti noodles for an example.

When I first transitioned to being vegan earlier this year I never would have imagined that vegan lasagna could be so delicious — nevermind craving it as a soup. If you enjoy this recipe also consider trying our Butternut Squash or Classic Three Cheese Vegan Lasagna.

Preparation

• 1/Cook lasagna noodles as directed (approx. 10-12 noodles depending on your preference). Set aside.
  Tip: Using a pair of tongs, remove each noodle from your pot of water (one at a time) and set on a cutting board. Place each noodle side by side (without touching) to keep the noodles in their original shape/form. This makes for a nicer presentation of this soup~
• 2/Prepare one batch of savoury vegan parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Ingredients: Basil-Herb Sautéed Ground Round

• 1 medium onion, halved (75g)
• 2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped (95g)
• 30 g olive oil
• 1 Package/340g Yves Veggie Cuisine Ground Round (or other soy/protein substitute)
• 1.5 teaspoons vegetable bouillon powder
• 6 basil leaves, fresh (if available)
• Pinch of dried basil
• Pinch of Himalayan pink salt

Instructions

• 1/Put onion and celery in your Thermomix mixing bowl. Chop for 5 sec/Speed 7. Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• 2/Add olive oil to the TM bowl. Sauté 3 min/120C/Speed 1. Once again, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• 3/Add ground round, vegetable bouillon powder, basil and salt to the TM bowl. Cook 5 min/100C/Speed 2 (Reverse). Once cooked, transfer to a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
  

Ingredients: Tomato Soup Base

• Tomatoes, halved (400g) (I used a combination of locally-sourced Campari and Cherry Tomatoes)
• 2 1/8 cups water (500g)
• 1.5 tsp vegetable bouillon powder
• Pinch of dried basil
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese (recipe here)

Instructions

• 1/Add tomatoes to your Thermomix mixing bowl. Chop 5 sec/Speed 4.5
• 2/Add water, vegetable bouillon powder, basil, tomato sauce and parmesan cheese to the TM bowl. Cook 2 min/100C/Speed 2 (Reverse). If using a Thermomix, transfer prepared soup base to a large mixing bowl.

Ingredients: Soup Assembly

• Cooked lasagna noodles, cut into ½” strips
• Sautéed ground round (recipe above)
• Parmesan cheese, reserved (recipe above)
• Tomato soup base (recipe above)

Instructions

• 1/Add cooked lasagna, sautéed ground round and parmesan cheese to your mixing bowl with prepared tomato soup. Taste and adjust seasoning if/as required.

Product Recommendations

*HarvestSun®  Vegetable Bouillon Powder
*Village Farms Sinfully Sweet Compari Tomatoes®

Note: This recipe was made using a Thermomix appliance, however it can easily be adapted using similar food prep tools (e.g. mutli-function processor, immersion blender etc) or using a more traditional stovetop method.