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Four-Layer Raw Lasagne

If you have a blender or food processor, you can most definitely rock out a raw-food lasagne. Once
prepared with the soaked ingredients, you could assemble the dish and be eating it within just
30 minutes. Oh, and did we mention how sweet, tangy, creamy, refreshing and delicious this meal is?
Serves
Serves 6-9
Total Time
30 Minutes
Ingredients
For the 'pasta' layer
3 medium courgettes
2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 jar of pesto
Basil leaves or edible flowers, to serve
For the mushroom layer
250g of portobello mushrooms, peeled
3 tbsp of tamari
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
50g of walnuts, soaked for 4-6 hours
50g of sundried tomatoes, soaked for 4-6 hours
2 tbsp of white miso paste
2 tsp of mixed Italian herbs
1 tsp paprika
For the ‘cheese’ layer
280g of macadamia nuts
25g of nutritional yeast
Juice of 2 lemons
4 garlic cloves
½ tsp of Himalayan salt
240ml of water, plus more as needed
For the tomato paste layer
150g of sundried tomatoes, soaked in warm water for 4-6 hours
3 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
5 pitted dates, soaked for 4-6 hours
2 tbsp of mixed Italian herbs
Method
Step 1

Unless you have plenty of time for preparation, follow this method in the order given to make the lasagne within 30 minutes. First, make a start on the mushroom layer. Thinly slice the mushrooms, place them in a bowl and stir in the tamari, oil and vinegar. Set aside to marinate, stirring every ten minutes to ensure the liquids penetrate the mushrooms evenly.

Step 2

Using a mandoline on the finest setting, a knife or a potato peeler, thinly slice the courgettes along their lengths into long, flat sheets.

Step 3

Blend the ‘cheese’ layer ingredients in a blender until smooth. If you don’t have a high-powered blender, you may need more water, but add it in small amounts and stop once the mixture is smooth. Or use a food processor instead – your mixture will have more texture and bite. Scoop the mixture into a bowl. Good news – there's no need to wash the blender between preparing the different sauces – it’s all going into the same meal anyway.

Step 4

Put all the tomato paste layer ingredients into the blender and blend, using the tamper, until they are well combined. Scoop out the mixture into a bowl.

Step 5

Strain the marinated mushrooms and transfer to the blender, add the remaining mushroom-layer ingredients and blend to a chunky paste.

Step 6

You’ll need a 40 x 27cm rectangular ovenproof roasting dish in which to prepare the lasagne. To layer the lasagne, first cover the base of the dish with courgette sheets, overlapping them slightly so there are no gaps. Spread over this a layer of tomato paste, then add another layer of courgette sheets. Spread with a layer of cheese, then more courgettes. Follow with a layer of mushroom, the tomato slices, then more courgettes and, finally, a pesto layer. If you have courgette sheets remaining, cover the top with those. Thin layers of sauce are best, both for the enjoyment of this dish and for it to hold together well, so if you find you have plenty of sauce to work with, make it an eight-layer lasagne instead of a four-layer one.

Step 7

Slice the lasagne with a sharp knife and scoop out each piece with a fish slice. Sprinkle with basil leaves or edible flowers to serve.

Recipe from The UnCook Book by Tanya Maher (Hay House, £25)

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