Vegetable Lasagna
It’s hard to believe that you can make a fully raw, vegan lasagna! This recipe is adapted from one created by Elaina Love many years ago. We made it often at Que SeRaw SeRaw, and some customers would order it as a large dish to serve at dinner parties. It’s best with nice ripe tomatoes and fresh green basil. I still have beautiful basil and oregano growing in pots on my back deck, so I love to go out and pick these right before making the marinara sauce. It’s easy to make the components ahead of time and assemble everything when you’re ready to eat.
This is a hearty, satisfying dish that’s a great alternative to salads and lighter meals during the cooler weather. Here you’ll see the method for creating individual servings, but you could also assemble it in one large serving dish.
Nutritional yeast is one of the ingredients in the Pine Nut Ricotta. This is included to add a “cheesy” flavor in many raw / vegan recipes. Some vegans like to use fortified nutritional yeast because it has added B12 and folic acid. A couple brands I like are Anthony’s and Foods Alive. You can order either directly from the company or from Amazon, or look for it in the baking section at most larger grocery stores. As always, I encourage you to use all organic ingredients.
Ingredients
Filling:
2 large or 3 smaller zucchinis, julienned and air-dried
4 cups fresh baby spinach or arugula, washed and dried
Marinara Sauce:
2 medium Roma tomatoes
2 dates, pitted
1 small clove garlic
2 Tablespoons chopped red onion
1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in water for 1+ hour and drained
Pine Nut Ricotta:
1 cup pine nuts, soaked in water for 1+ hour and drained
1/2 cup water
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 small clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
Method:
Advance prep: Soak sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts in separate bowls for at least one hour.
I use a Cuisinart with the grating (julienne) blade to prepare the zucchini noodles. You should be able to do this in most food processors. Alternatively, you can use a spiralizer or a julienne peeler. Spread the zucchini noodles out in a thin layer on a dish towel or paper towels to air dry while you prepare the other components.
Marinara Sauce:
It’s best to prepare the marinara and the ricotta using a nutribullet or other powerful personal size blender. If you only have the larger Vitamix, it will work, but you will need to stop and scrape the sides down several times to get the ingredients completely blended.
Start by chopping the tomatoes and adding them along with the dates, red onion, basil, oregano and salt and blend. Next, make sure to squeeze off any excess water and add the drained sun-dried tomatoes. Blend thoroughly. It will be a pretty thick texture, but you should make sure the sun-dried tomatoes are fully blended. Scrape the mixture out into a strainer and place the strainer on top of a bowl to let any excess liquid drain off while you make the ricotta.
Pine Nut Ricotta:
Rinse out your blender pitcher, make sure to drain the pine nuts, and blend all the ingredients together. This should be a smooth, creamy texture. Pour the sauce into a glass measuring cup or jar. You are now ready to assemble.
Pat the zucchini noodles with a dish towel or paper towels to get them as dry as possible. If you’ve made the components in advance, refrigerate everything until you’re ready to put the lasagna together.
Assembly:
Gather your components and set out a plate or dish for each serving. I used spinach here which is very mild. You can use arugula for a slightly spicier flavor.
Layer the following, one on top of the other:
small handful (about 1/2 cup) zucchini noodles
2 Tablespoons ricotta
2 Tablespoons marinara
small handful spinach or arugula
small handful zucchini noodles
2 Tablespoons ricotta
2 Tablespoons marinara
Optional garnish - fresh basil leaves and / or pine nuts
Voíla! If you assemble your lasagna and store it in the fridge, the salt may draw out some liquid. Just drain off any excess liquid before serving. You can store assembled lasagna for three days. You can also store any extra sauce for three days and use it as a dip or spread.
Servings: 4-6.