Mushroom and spinach Lasagna

It may seem to be not so easy to veganize Italian food. Of course, some recipes are harder than others since certain cheese qualities such as stretchiness, meltiness, and some taste attributes can be harder to replicate in plant-based cooking. But there are many other ingredients aside from cheese that make Italian cuisine special and unique. 

Just to be clear, I am no expert on Italian food and of course due to its popularity one could say that Italian cuisine has become distorted, and changed by the people in other countries. On the other hand, however, one could argue that Italian food has simply gotten its new, foreign counterparts that do not exactly exclude but expand the spectrum of Italian dishes. 

I have been properly introduced to Italian food only once I moved to Germany. Sure, there is significant Italian influence in Ukraine, especially when it comes to all the pasta types. In fact, I grew up calling pasta "вермишель" or vermychele, which I now know comes from Italian vermicelli. 

But in my Ukrainian upbringing, I had no idea what pesto, spaghetti bolognese, tortellini, or carbonara are. Now I am almost surprised when I meet some Ukrainian who have recently moved and are not familiar with these foods and dishes.  It seems such basic knowledge to me now. 

Speaking of carbonara, I can't say for other countries but in Germany, it is always served with cream. I will never forget however how my Italian-born and raised friend, with whom I studied together to become a hospitality specialist, was furious about that. It turns out that originally carbonara does not have cream in it. 

I now think that there are basically two versions of the dish - Italian and German. It doesn't mean that German is worse but maybe it's best when it's not presented as authentic. 

As for the recipe you are about to read - this lasagna is not specifically traditional but it's definitely delicious. And what I personally love about making lasagna is that that last step includes putting it in the oven for some time, which gives you an opportunity to then clean the kitchen before you sit down at the table to eat. In that way, you don't have to worry about the dishes after the meal anymore. 

This lasagna features one of my favorite and easiest sauces - creamy bechamel. It also emphasizes tomatoes and herbs which makes your whole home smell amazing and creates a lovely ambiance. 

Tips and notes:

• Slice the zucchinis very thin and lengthwise, for example by using a potato peeler. This really influences the taste.
• Make sure that the tomato and the bechamel sauces are cooked so that the lasagna retains form and doesn't fall apart completely on the plate. But don't worry if it won't work out as it won't impact the taste and the final product will still be delicious. 
• Needless to say that olive oil is a must for this, substitute it for other types of oil only if absolutely necessary. 
• Use firm vegan butter for the bechamel sauce and not margarine. Margarine is normally way softer and it will make a different consistency so you would have to adjust the rest of the ingredients. Vegan butter however resembles the texture of dairy butter that is sold in firm blocks rather than soft, spreadable paste. In case you cannot find vegan butter you can substitute it for vegan fats such as refined coconut oil or plant-based fat. Don't worry about the smell of the coconut oil since "refined" in this case means it is odorless. 

Vegan Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna