Lasagne

Yes I know it boggles the mind that you could have a raw lasagne but you can and it takes about 30 minutes so around the same time as a vegetarian lasagne and can be made well ahead of time so a great dinner party dish.

The essential charm of a lasagne is the layers of soft textures with the cheese sauce and the tomato sauce.

You can emulate this easily and actually end up with a raw lasagne that may very well be superior to its namesake.

Feel free to try different vegetable layers.

My recipe goes like this

Cheese layer:

2cup macadamias
1cup pine nuts
2 Tblsp lemon juice
2 Tblsp nutritional yeast/ brewers yeast
2 yellow bell peppers
2 T fresh chopped parsley
1 T fresh chopped thyme
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp tumeric optional

water

Process all ingredients together adding a little  water as possible.

Nut meat layer:

1 ½c walnuts soaked 1 hour or more
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 1 hour or more
1 Tblsp dark miso

2 tsp dried oregano

2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried sage

1 tsp dried rosemary
1 Tblsp wheat free tamari
½ tsp cayenne pepper
2 Tblsp olive oil
1 Tblsp agave nectar/ honey

Process all ingredients  leaving the mixture a little  chunky.

Tomato sauce:

2 cups sundried tomatoes soaked for an hour and drained (reserve liquid)

2 cups roma tomatoes roughly chopped and seeded

2 cloves of garlic

1 bunch of basi

1 Red bell pepper

2 stalks of celery roughly chopped

1Tblsp dried onion

salt to taste

2 soaked dates

juice of 1/2 a lemon

pinch of chilli

Process in a food processor until blended but still chunky.

Spinach Layer:

6 cups baby spinach super finely chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

pinch salt

put your spinach in a bowl with olive oil and salt and massage it to wilt it then leave for about an hour.

Pasta layer:

4-6 zuchinni sliced long ways with a mandolin or vege peeler ( the trick is to cut it super thin so it softens and absorbs the flavours like pasta does)

olive oil

Let the zuchini marinate in a little olive oil for 10 minutes before you assemble the lasagne

Assembing the lasagne:

In a medium sized lasagne pan place 1/3rd of the strips of zuchinni so they completely cover the bottom of the pan.

Then cover in your 1/2 your nut meat, pressing down firmly

Make a layer of  ‘cheese’ and then tomato sauce followed by a layer of spinach.

Place another layer of zuchinni and repeat, nut meat, cheese, tomato sauce and then spinach.

Top with the final layer of zuchinni and press down firmly.

Cover in a layer of toamato sauce and then cheese sauce- these will mix just like a baked lasagne.

Cling film it and place in the fridge for a couple of hours for the flavors to mingle and the whole thing to firm up.