Two Sauce Spinach Lasagna

This is tonight's manifestation of my ever evolving, never the same twice lasagna. I love playing around with this recipe based on my mood and what I have stocked in the house. Serve with plenty of bread to soak up the sauce!

Two Sauce Spinach Lasagna:

12 lasagna noodles

For the tomato sauce:
1 tsp. olive oil

1 large onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. salt, plus a pinch

For the bechamel sauce:
1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
3 cups water
1 tbsp. miso
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1.5 tsp. Dijon mustard
1.5 tsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 clove garlic
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. flour

For the spinach:

10 oz. spinach

1 tsp. olive oil

Make the red sauce:
Preheat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 10 minutes. Add spices, garlic, and brown sugar and cook 1 minute more. Add tomatoes and salt and let simmer on low while you make everything else. Blend with an immersion blender or in a blender** before using.

Make the bechamel sauce:
Blend cashews, water, and remaining ingredients EXCEPT olive oil and flour (those will be used to make a roux) until very smooth. Heat olive oil on medium heat in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Whisk in flour to make a roux. Heat for a few minutes until bubbly. Whisk in cashew milk. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a low simmer, while continuing to whisk frequently and making sure the sauce doesn't stick to the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes, until the sauce thickens.

Make spinach:
Preheat oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add spinach and let cook until just wilted, about 3 minutes.

Make noodles:
Boil noodles in a big pot of salted boiling water for 8 minutes. Stir to make sure they don't stick together. Strain and rinse with lots of cold water. (I make my noodles right when everything else is coming together, so they won't have time to sit and stick together. I use them immediately after straining and rinsing with cold water).

Layer lasagna:
Preheat oven to 375. In a 9x13 casserole pan, add 3 tbsp. of red sauce to the bottom of pan. Add 4 noodles. Add 1/3 of bechamel sauce, then 1/4 red sauce, then 1/2 spinach. Add 4 noodles and repeat bechamel, red sauce, then remaining spinach. Add 4 more noodles and remaining bechamel sauce and remaining red sauce. Bake uncovered for 40 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.



**If blending sauce in a blender, let cool first or pulse in blender, letting steam out frequently (so the top doesn't pop off and makes a mess/burns you).