The Expanse Recipes: Alex Kamal's Mariner Valley Lasagna (Vegan)

The Expanse season 4 is finally here, and what better way to celebrate the best SciFi series in the 'verse than to make Rocinante pilot, Alex Kamal's Mariner Valley Lasagna! It's a vegan lasagna, too, so buckle up, folks, here comes the juice!

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The Expanse is quite possibly my all-time favourite TV and book series. I can't begin to tell you how much I love it, nor explain all the ways it continually impresses me. I love the science, I love the spaceyness, and most of all, I love the characters.

Even the bad guys are wonderfully realised. I also love that the bad guys sometimes do good things, and the good guys very definitely do bad things. Ain't no black 'n' white in space, kid!

The Expanse is a such a rich world, and full of detail. Detail such as the food the characters eat. I think I was up to about Book 5 - Nemesis Games - when I realised I should have been keeping note of all the grub that was mentioned. Once I'd finished Book 8 (Tiamat's Wrath), I went back, and re-read them all, and made notes of all the food and drink that was mentioned. I now have a sizeable file!

It's interesting that as the books progress, the way the food is described has more detail. Naomi's Red Kibble, for example, at the start is described quite differently to later books. I'm guessing it may have something to do with Screaming Firehawks (The Expanse fan-base!) continually asking for recipes. No official ones have been forthcoming (yet!), so it's up to the 'Hawks to do what we can with the available information.

The good news is most of the food that's mentioned seems to actually be vegan!

Lasagna in The Expanse

Alex's lasagna has several iterations too, depending on whether you go by the books or the TV show.

Once the gravity had dropped from the crush of high acceleration, the whole crew quietly gathered in the galley and started making dinner. Naomi blended together fake eggs and fake cheese. Amos cooked tomato paste and the last of their fresh mushrooms into a red sauce that actually smelled like the real thing. Alex, who had the duty watch, had forwarded ship ops down to a panel in the galley and sat at a table next to it, spreading the fake cheese paste and red sauce onto flat noodles in hopes that the end result would approximate lasagna. Holden had oven duty and had spent the lasagna prep time baking frozen lumps of dough into bread. The smell in the galley was not entirely unlike actual food.

Leviathan Wakes (Book 1)

In 'Safe' (S2-E1), Alex calls the crew into the galley, on the pretext of there being an emergency. In reality, it's because there's been a load of tension on the Rocinante (the ship), so being the caring man that he is, he decides to cook lasagne for everyone, so they can all have a family meal together. In this episode, referring to the lasagne, he says;

So that, my hungry friends, is a Kamal family recipe. It's a staple of the Mariner Valley. Now granted, we had to improvise a little bit, without any real cheese, or wheat, or tomatoes or anything...

Safe (The Expanse Season 2, episode 1)

Alex Kamal's Mariner Valley Lasagna

(Yep, that's lasagna with an 'a', not an 'e' - I'm sure that's how Alex would spell it!) Remember me telling you in my other lasagne recipe, that in general, in Italy, lasagne is not made with cheese sauce… but that sometimes I do? Well, Alex's Mariner Valley lasagna is a case in point!

Although, I suppose, technically, this lasagne isn't made with cheese sauce either... merely a cheesy sauce!

The thing with soy mince is that by itself, it has a bit of a yucky aftertaste, so it needs to be cooked with strong flavours. Tomato sauce is perfect. However, Alex's lasagna doesn't contain any tomatoes. I could have made a sauce with red peppers but would have been up against a similar issue because in quantity, they can taste metallic. I didn't want to risk that, so a cheesy sauce was the obvious option.

Wait, Mariner Valley - isn't that on Mars?

What are the ingredients for Alex's Mariner Valley Lasagna?

I figured that even though he couldn't get wheat, tomatoes, and cheese - and definitely not meat, Alex does have access to mushrooms, soy, and rice; therefore, I've used:

• soy mince
• soy milk
• vegan cheese
• tofu
• rice flour
• rice lasagne sheets
• nutritional yeast flakes
• dried mushrooms
• dried onions
• frozen peppers
• frozen spinach
• chilli flakes, dried herbs, mustard, salt, garlic granules, cider vinegar, & vegetable bouillon

I briefly considered using my ricotta recipe for this lasagne but I don't recall cashews ever being mentioned in any of the books, and certainly not in the TV show.

In addition, cashew production is very labour-intensive, and given that it's explicitly stated that the majority of Earthers are living on Basic (i.e. unemployed, and on benefits), I find it unlikely that cashew production is still a thing, and if it is, then mostly likely, like meat, only the very wealthy can afford them.

Also, since soy is ubiquitous, it's probably safe to assume that like now, it finds its way into all kinds of foods. Hence, making soy ricotta with tofu.

Nutritional yeast is a cultured food... no, that doesn't mean it reads Shakespeare and listens to Pavarotti! It means that it's grown in a glucose nutrient medium. That sounds pretty SciFi to me, so I'm giving myself some more latitude here, and using it in the lasagne!

Veggie-wise, obviously mushrooms. Not least because dried mushrooms store really well, and are light to transport, so even when there's a shortage of fresh, I'm sure the Roci would have dried mushrooms stashed away.

I've taken the liberty of imagining that the air scrubber plants growing in the galley walls and table could be herbs … because why would you not have herbs if your spaceship food tends toward the bland?

I don't imagine that fresh food is in abundance on the Rocinante, especially when away from the Stations, but according to the books, there is a freezer on board, so I decided to use frozen peppers and spinach.

Peppers are pretty fast-growing, and freeze well, and I can totally see Alex stocking up on these at Ganymede or Ceres Stations. And we know from Naomi's red kibble that chillies are available, so there's no reason there shouldn't be sweet peppers too.

Speaking of chillies, since the cultural heritage of Mariner Valley is Indo-Chinese and Texan, it seems to me completely reasonable to assume they'd be using chillies. With no tomatoes in this lasagne, it definitely needs a bit of oomph!

How to make Martian Lasagna!

The first thing note about this Martian lasagna that this is not an overly fast dish to make. Whenever Alex made it for the crew, it was a genuine labour of love. And that makes it all the better, as far as I'm concerned! That said, it's actually no more labour-intensive or difficult than any other vegan lasagne you'd make from scratch.

I do advise you to read through the instructions and notes before starting to make this though. It's not rocket science (see what I did there?!) but you'll save yourself a lot of bother if you familiarise yourself with the recipe, and gather all your ingredients before you start. The good news is that there's almost no prep!

The 'meaty' filling:
- Re-hydrate the mushrooms in boiling water.
- Simmer the frozen peppers in their own liquid, along with the kibbled onions.
- Add the soy mince and seasonings, plus the rehydrated mushrooms and their soaking water. Stir well, and continue to simmer while you make the cheese sauce and ricotta.

The 'cheese' sauce:
- Place all the ingredients into a blender, and blend on high for around half a minute.
- Pour into a saucepan, and over a medium heat, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, and simmer for a couple of minutes, until the sauce has thickened.

The 'ricotta':
- Place everything into your blender, and pulse for a couple of minutes, until everything is smooshed.

Rest of the prep:
- Put the lasagne sheets into a large pan of boiling salted water, and boil for around 5 mins, until they soften. Remove from the water, and lay out on a chopping board to cool down.
- Turn on your oven, and spray your lasagne pan with non-stick spray.

Put together your Mariner Valley Lasagna!
- Place a layer of lasagne sheets on the bottom of your lasagne pan. Ladle over ⅓ of the cheese sauce, spreading it evenly over the pasta.
- Spread over half of the 'meaty' filling, making sure it's level. Add the spinach.
- Spread over half of the 'ricotta', and then add another layer of pasta on top. Ladle over another third of the cheese sauce, then the rest of the 'meat', followed by the remainder of the ricotta, and the last of the pasta.
- Spread the rest of the cheese sauce over the pasta, making sure the edges are covered, then sprinkle over the 50g of grated vegan cheese, if using.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 40 minutes, until the pasta is completely soft, and the top is golden.

Tips

• You could use fresh herbs and veggies if you want - I would normally but for this lasagne, I wanted to keep it as close to what I imagine would be available on a ship in deep space.
• Dried onions are also known as kibbled onions.
• Soy mince is also known as veggie mince and soy crumbles.
• For the dried mushrooms, I used a mix of porcini and wild forest 'shrooms. You can use whichever you prefer.
• Do make sure you squeeze as much moisture from the spinach as possible, or else you'll end up with soggy lasagne.
• I haven't used oil because I'm not convinced that frying on a spaceship, which could drop out of thrust at any moment, resulting in zero gravity, would be in any way a good idea!
• Instead of chilli flakes, you could use some hot sauce. As much as you want! I'm rather partial to Cholula, as even the hottest one has a good flavour.
• If you don't have Vegeta, use your favourite or vegetable bouillon powder. I like Marigold Swiss Vegetable Vegan Bouillon but my favourites are Massel 'Beef' and Massel 'chicken'. They're all completely vegan, of course!
• If your lasagne pack says the pasta doesn't need to be pre-cooked, ignore it. You can be boiling the lasagne sheets while you're making the cheese sauce.
• Don't use glutinous rice flour. Unless you want a gross cheesy gloop!
• You can buy the Baker's Edge Brownie Pan from Amazon. Baker's Edge also makes a lasagne pan but according to Jim Murray, one of the props guys who works on The Expanse, they used the brownie pan on the show. Mine came with the lid, serving spatula, and a silicone wedge to halve the size of the pan. eBay frequently has the pans, too. Or you could use a normal lasagne pan!
• Mariner Valley Lasagna will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days if covered, or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Unlike the crew of the Roci, we eat our Martian lasagna with a green salad. Some baby plum tomatoes may find their way onto our plates too!

The Expanse is on Amazon Prime Video, and it's free to watch for anyone who has an Amazon Prime subscription. There's great Expanse discussion group on Reddit too. And if you want the soundtracks, check out my Spotify playlist!

(All the Expanse images were screencapped by me. I do not own the copyright.)

📖 Recipe

The Expanse Recipes: Alex Kamal's Mariner Valley Lasagna (Vegan)

The Expanse season 4 is finally here, and what better way to celebrate the best SciFi series in the 'verse than to make Rocinante pilot, Alex Kamal's Mariner Valley Lasagna! It's a vegan lasagna, too! Buckle up, folks, here comes the juice!

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dinner, lunch, Mains

Cuisine: Martian

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Makes (slide to adjust): 8

Calories: 493kcal

Author: Nico

Ingredients

Filling:

• 40 g dried mushrooms
• 500 ml boiling water
• 500 g frozen mixed peppers
• 50 g dried onion flakes
• 500 g soy mince
• 1 tablespoon garlic granules
• 1 tablespoon Vegeta
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• ½ tablespoon dried rosemary
• 2 teaspoon chilli flakes
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt

'Cheese' Sauce:

• 750 ml soy milk
• 100 g grated vegan cheese
• 45 g  rice flour
• 50 g nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• Large pinch sea salt

'Ricotta':

• 500 g firm tofu (not silken)
• 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
• 1½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• Pinch sea salt
• Pinch Vegeta
• Splash soy milk

For the lasagne:

• 500 g frozen spinach thawed, and gently squeezed to remove as much moisture as possible
• 12 sheets rice lasagne (mine weighed 300g / 10½ oz)

Optional:

• 50 g grated vegan cheese

Metric - US Customary

Cook ModePrevent your screen going dark

Instructions

Make the 'meaty' filling:

• Place the mushrooms into a jug, and pour over the boiling water. Push down with a spoon, to ensure they are all submerged (some will rise to the top, it's not a problem -they'll soon hydrate). Set aside for 15 mins.
• Place a large skillet (or a wok or kadai) over a medium heat, and when it's hot, add the frozen peppers. There's no need to add any oil or extra water. Pop a lid on, and let the peppers simmer in their own liquid.
• Add the dried onion, and mix well. Continue to simmer for 5 mins.
• Stir in the soy mince, garlic, Vegeta, herbs, and chilli flakes.
• Add the mushrooms and their liquid, and stir well. Put the lid back on the pan, and leave to simmer for another 10-15 mins, while you make the cheese sauce and ricotta. (If you're not using a non-stick pan, you may need to stir the mix occasionally to prevent it catching.)

Make the 'cheese' sauce:

• Place all the ingredients into a blender, and blend on high for 30-60 seconds, depending on how powerful your blender is.
• Pour into a saucepan, and over a medium heat, bring to the boil, stirring occasionally to prevent lumps forming.
• Once the sauce is boiling, turn the heat down, and simmer - stirring all the time - for around 2 mins, to finish thickening, and to cook the rice flour.

Make the 'ricotta':

• Place everything into your blender, and pulse for a couple of minutes, until everything is combined into a ricotta-like consistency. If you have a tamper, use it to push down the tofu. If not, scrape the sides of the jug down in between pulses.
• If need be, add a little soy milk to loosen the mix.

Pre-cook the lasagne sheets:

• Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
• Place several lasagne sheets into the water, and leave to boil for 5 mins, until softened.
• Remove the pasta from the water, and lay out on a chopping board or some baking parchment to cool.
• I use my CrockPot because it's just the right size - and the sauté function doubles up as a great way to cook pasta! Use any large pan though; it needs to be large enough for the pasta to be able to freely move around. Constricted pasta will stick together.

Put together your Mariner Valley Lasagna!

• Heat your oven to 200°C (400°F / gas mark 6), and spray your lasagne pan with non-stick spray.
• Place a layer of lasagne sheets on the bottom of your lasagne pan.
• Ladle over ⅓ of the cheese sauce, spreading it evenly over the pasta.
• Spread over half of the 'meaty' filling, making sure it's level.
• Add the spinach, and gently press down to compact the layers.
• Spread over half of the 'ricotta', and then add another layer of pasta on top - again, pressing down gently.
• Ladle over another third of the cheese sauce, then the rest of the 'meat', followed by the remainder of the ricotta, and the last of the pasta. Press down gently.
• Spread the rest of the cheese sauce over the pasta, making sure the edges are covered, then sprinkle over the 50g of grated vegan cheese, if using.
• Bake in the centre of the oven for 40 minutes, until the pasta is completely soft, and the top is golden. (Although don't expect it to look like dairy cheese!)
• Remove from the oven, and leave to rest in the pan for 10 minutes before serving.

To store:

• Mariner Valley Lasagna will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days if covered, or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Nutrition Facts

The Expanse Recipes: Alex Kamal's Mariner Valley Lasagna (Vegan)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 493 Calories from Fat 117

% Daily Value*

Fat 13g20%

Saturated Fat 6g30%

Polyunsaturated Fat 4g

Monounsaturated Fat 2g

Sodium 883mg37%

Potassium 626.77mg18%

Carbohydrates 71g24%

Fiber 15g60%

Sugar 8g9%

Protein 29g58%

Vitamin A 1825.6IU37%

Vitamin C 22.3mg27%

Calcium 315.3mg32%

Iron 3.5mg19%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Did you make this recipe?Do mention @yums0me and/or tag #yums0me - I'd love to see how yours turned out!

DisclaimerMeasurements in parenthesis are approximate; it is beyond the scope of yumsome to be able to provide pinpoint-accurate ingredient quantities for every type of measuring utensil. As a guideline however, I make the assumption that:

• 1 cup = US cup = 240 ml
• 1 tablespoon = US/UK = 15 ml
• 1 fl oz = US = 30 ml

Further information may be found here