Who can resist a cheesy, tomatoey lasagna? It is the perfect comfort food.
Lasagna is delicious but it is also so calorie-rich, complicated to assemble and time-consuming to make that it is something that is a treat more than a staple in my diet.
Today is National Lasagna Day and I am sharing my favorite Raw Lasagna recipe. There are a lot of steps to this recipe but the ends definitely justify the means. For me, this dish is on par with any traditional lasagna I have had. And the calorie count is much, much lower to boot. The time-consuming part of this recipe is the time it takes to marinate the veggie strips and mushrooms. If you can slice and marinate them the night before assembly is much quicker.
Raw Vegan Lasagna
Ingredients
Herbed Ricotta Style Nut Cheese
- 1/2 c raw cashews, soaked
- 1/4 c raw macadamia nuts, soaked
- 1 T raw pine nuts, soaked
- 2 T nutritional yeast
- 1/4 t salt
- 2 T. lemon juice
- 1 t each fresh basil and parsley
- 1/4 c filtered water, or more to desired consistency
Mushroom layer
- 1 c mushrooms (sliced)
- 1 T liquid aminos or tamari
- 1 T water
- 1 T olive oil
Marinated Noodles & Veggies
- 1 large zucchini
- 1 medium ichiban eggplant
- 1/2 small onion sliced really thin
- 1 sweet bell pepper, sliced really thin
- 1 T olive oil
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1/4 t sea salt
Tomato Sauce
- 1/2 c sun dried tomatoes, soaked
- 1-2 medium tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 t sea salt
- 1 T red or yellow onion
- 1 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1 T lemon juice
- 1 T fresh basil
- 1 T fresh oregano
- 1/2 T fresh thyme
- 1 T. agave nectar or other
Toppings
- 1/2 c raw spinach
- 1/4 c fresh basil
- 2 T nutritional yeast
Instructions
Combine cheese ingredients in a food processor and process till smooth. Add more water to give it a ricotta consistency. When smooth, put into a glass bowl, cover it with cheese cloth and set it out for 6 hrs. at room temp. After 6 hrs. keep it refrigerated till ready to use.
Marinate mushrooms in the liquid aminos for 1-2 hours. Drain and set aside.
Cut the zucchini, eggplant, onion and pepper on a mandolin into into paper-thin slices. Put the vegetables in a bowl with the oil, lemon juice and salt and let marinate for 1 hour.
Blend tomato sauce ingredients together.
Put thin slices of the zucchini on the bottom of a glass lasagna pan.
Top this layer with a thin layer of the ricotta cheese, and then a layer of mushrooms.
Add a layer of eggplant, top that layer with the tomato sauce, then with layer of the sliced onions and peppers.
Top that with a layer of more zucchini slices, layer on top of that with more ricotta cheese, then top it with the fresh spinach leaves, top that with mushrooms.
Then add eggplant again and top with the remaining tomato sauce and onion/pepper mixture.
Garnish the top with nutritional yeast and julienned fresh basil leaves.
If you want to serve the lasagna in the dish, dehydrate at 145F for 45 minutes (to get crust on top). Continue to dehydrate at 115F for 3-4 hours until warmed through.
Alternatively, you can cover the lasagna and place it into the fridge to set up, about 3-5 hours. When ready to serve cut into squares and dehydrate for 30-45 minutes at 145F to warm.
It can be eaten cold or at room temperature too.
