Raw Food Recipe: Raw Lasagna

– by Russell James of TheRawChef.com

I really love this dish. It’s great to take to potlucks or give to your non-raw or meat-eating friends, and doesn’t need any expensive kitchen equipment other than a knife, a chopping board and an inexpensive food processor.

Although a mandoline would be an advantage and is also very cheap in terms of kitchen equipment, it’s not necessary to have one to make this delicious raw lasagna recipe.

Raw Food Recipe: Russell’s Raw Lasagna

Serves 9 large portions.
Can be made in a lasagna dish, or made as individual portions on the plate.

 

Macadamia Ricotta Nut Cheese

• 2 cups macadamia nuts,
  soaked 4 hours or more
• 1 cup pine nuts
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 yellow pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water, as needed

Process all ingredients together adding as little of the water as possible
until a fluffy consistency is achieved.

 

Gorgeous Green Basil Pesto

• 2 cups tightly packed basil leaves
• 3/4 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

 Process all ingredients, leaving plenty of chunkiness!

 

Savoury Walnut Meat

• 1/2 cup walnuts,
  soaked 1 hour or more
• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes,
  soaked for 1 hour or more
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried sage
• 1 tablespoon nama shoyu
• 1 tablespoon dark/brown miso
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon agave nectar

Grind all ingredients in a food processor,
leaving the mixture slightly chunky.

 

Sassy Wilted Spinach

• 6 cups torn spinach
• 5 tablespoons dried oregano
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in a bowl to marinade and wilt for 1 hour or longer; putting the covered bowl in a dehydrator will help this process but isn’t essential.

 

Sun-dried Tomato Marinara Sauce

• 1 1/2 cups sun-dried tomatoes,
  soaked 2 hours or more
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 soft dates
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 cups tomatoes,
  seeded and chopped
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano

 Process in a food processor until smooth.

 

Raw Lasagna Noodles

• 5 medium zucchini
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Pinch black pepper

Cut zucchini lengthwise into thin strips and marinade with the other ingredients for 10 minutes.

 

Assembling the Raw Lasagna

1. Line the base of your dish with a layer of the zucchini strips that slightly overlap.
2. On top of this, put down a layer of the walnut meat, then the nut cheese, then tomato sauce and finally the pesto on top.
3. Finish this with another layer of slightly overlapping courgette strips.
4. Repeat step 2 but before adding the final layer of zucchini, take your wilted spinach and create an additional layer with that.

Placing the whole dish in the fridge for several hours will firm it all up slightly which will make it easier to cut into portions.

Garnish individual portions with black pepper and a sprig of basil.

Yum!

For more free recipes and raw tips by Russsell James, or to purchase one of his rawkin’ raw recipe books, check out his website at TheRawChef.com!