Dairy-Free Lasagna Soup
Plus: Strawberry Cookies and Goodbye TikTok!
Hi Friends!
What a strange week to be a content creator! The clock is ticking for TikTok, and unless something big happens in the next few days it will be banned on January 19th. I’m sure some of you first found me on TikTok, while some of you have never used it, but either way it’s a big reason why you’re reading this newsletter. I was a full time housing attorney just returning to work after parental leave when I posted my first pasta video on TikTok in January 2021. In those early days it was just a hobby, and I’d film myself making pasta late at night or during my daughter’s nap time. As I’ve talked about before, the week I returned to work was also the week my grandmother passed away, and making pasta was my salve during those difficult, early-parenthood days. I never could have imagined how posting on TikTok back then would change my life.
That being said, I’ve certainly had my frustration with TikTok over the years! Between the algorithm changes and the random shadow-banning, there were times I was ready to give up on TikTok completely. But it’s like having a sibling - you’re allowed to make fun of them, but if someone else does it you’ll get defensive. Sure, I complained about TikTok, but I didn’t want someone to come along and ban it! If if really doesn’t disappear next week, I’ll be sad to see it go.
And so, to celebrate/mourn, I’ve written a new version of my most viral TikTok recipe ever: Lasagna Soup. Believe it or not, one of the biggest complaints I’ve gotten over the years is that my cooking has too much cheese! I know, I know, that doesn’t seem possible. Too much cheese??? Is that a thing??
Well, for all the dairy-free people out there, I’ve written a completely cheese-free version of Lasagna Soup. It uses a vegan cheese made of cashews, and despite the fact that it is made out of nuts it actually has a great stretchy texture! You can also make this vegan mozzarella separately and use it on pizza, nachos, or bread, so I’ve included the standalone recipe as this week’s snack. For dessert, I made Spiral Strawberry Sugar Cookies. I love love love using strawberry powder in baking - it’s an easy and natural way to add color and flavoring - and the spiral design on these cookies is simple to make but comes out looking extra-cute.
The Recipes
The Snack: Stretchy Vegan Mozzarella “Cheese”
Prep Time 5 Min | Cook Time 10 Mins | Makes 1 ½ cups
This vegan mozzarella “cheese” is stretchy and gooey, just like the real thing! It’s made out of blended cashews, with tapioca flour (sometimes called tapioca starch) added to give it that characteristic stringiness. I’m not going to say it tastes exactly like real mozzarella, but that’s ok, it can be it’s own thing! It’s a great vegan alternative that can be baked on a pizza, used as a dip, or added to soups. I use nutritional yeast, garlic, and lemon juice to give this some flavor, but you can experiment with your own.
Ingredients
½ cup cashews
1 cup water
¼ cup tapioca flour (or tapioca starch)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 garlic clove
½ tsp salt
Recipe
If you do not have a super-strong blender (like a Vitamix) you will need to pre-soak the cashews. Place the cashews in a bowl and fill with enough water to completely cover them, then let them sit for about 2 hours until they have softened.
Once the cashews are soft, place them in a blender along with 1 cup water, the tapioca flour, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic clove, and salt. Blend until smooth; it should be quite liquidy.
Place the cashew liquid in a small pot and cook over medium-high heat while stirring constantly. The liquid will begin to clump up, and after about 5 minutes it should solidify into a stretchy, thick paste. Remove from the heat and use immediately, or store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
The Dinner: Dairy-Free Lasagna Soup
Prep Time 5 Min | Cook Time 10 Mins | Makes 1 ½ cups
To this day Lasagna Soup is my most viral recipe; it got me in both the New York Times and Turkish Vogue, so I count that as a win! Think of it as a deconstructed lasagna where all the components cook together in a pot. Over the last couple years I’ve had a lot of people ask for a vegan or dairy-free version, so here it is! This recipe used coconut cream to replace regular cream and the the vegan mozzarella from above. This recipe also has meat in it like the original, but you can easily replace that with fake meat, mushrooms, or vegetables to make this vegan.
Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ lb ground beef
½ lb Italian sausage
½ tsp dried oregano
Salt and Pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste
4 cups chicken broth
24-ounce jar marinara sauce
½ cup coconut cream
½ lb lasagna noodles
1 batch vegan mozzarella (see previous recipe)
¼ cup chopped basil leaves
Recipe
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until it starts to lose its color, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, then add the beef, sausage, oregano, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Break up the meat and cook until it is fully browned.
Add the tomato paste, stirring to coat the meat. Cook for about 1 minute, then add the chicken broth, marinara sauce, and coconut cream and bring to a boil.
Break the lasagna noodles into rough 2-inch pieces and add to the soup. Lower the heat to medium-low and let the soup simmer until the pasta is completely cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 20 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add the vegan mozzarella in dollops on top. Add the basil and serve.
The Dessert: Strawberry Spiral Sugar Cookies
Prep Time 15 Min | Rest Time 2 Hrs | Cook Time 20 Mins | Makes about 18 cookies
Strawberry powder is an easy way to elevate these simple sugar cookies. It provides a nice natural color and flavor that is subtle but just enough to set these apart. You can buy freeze-dried strawberry powder online. Otherwise, you can find whole freeze-dried strawberries at many grocery stores, and simply blend them in a food processor until you have a fine powder.
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
3 tbsp freeze-dried strawberry powder
Recipe
Cream the butter and sugar together in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add the two eggs and vanilla and beat until combined.
Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add them to the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.
Remove about half of the dough and place it in a separate bowl. Add the strawberry powder to the main bowl and mix with the dough until it is a solid pink color. Cover both the doughs and refrigerate them for at least two hours.
Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a cookie sheet or line it with parchment paper. For an abstract cookie design, combine one small spoonful of pink dough and one small spoonful of plain dough and roll them into a ball. Flatten the ball slightly and place on the cookie sheet.
For a spiral, dust a flat surface and a rolling pin with flour, then roll each dough into a rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Place one color on top of the other. Brush a small amount of water on the top color, then roll the dough into a tight log, beginning with one of the small sides of the rectangle. Slice the log into ¾ inch cookies.
You should be able to fit 8 cookies on a cookie sheet. Bake the cookies for 9 to 10 minutes, just until the edges start to brown. Let them cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then place on a cooling rack until completely cool.