When I went to NYC in August before my teacher training I went to Pure Food and Wine for the first time. Oh mannn, it's my favorite restaurant. Nothing even compares to it. I think I've had almost everything on the menu and there's literally not a bad thing on the menu. I'll be going back again in a few weeks and after that you all should get ready for an awesome review. Anyways, the first time I went to Pure Food I got their lasagna. I can't even explain to you how amazing it is. The flavors of the lasagna are out of this world. And the best part of it is that it's raw vegan and gluten free! Since I live about 5 hours away from NYC I haven't had any Pure Food lasagna since October. And that's how this recipe came about!
What we have here is zucchini, cashew cheese, basil pesto, and tomatoes all combined together to create an explosion of raw lasagna euphoria. Combining the crunch of the zucchini's and tomatoes with the creaminess of the cashew cheese and the rich texture of the pesto creates a hearty filling meal for everyone.
You're really going to love it because it's really simple to put this together also!
Raw Vegan Lasagna
serves 3-4
1 small-medium zucchini
2 large tomatoes, sliced
Dried basil to top
Nutritional yeast to top
Cashew Cheese:
1 cup cashews
2 and 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 and 1/2 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1-3 tablespoons water
2 cloves of garlic
Pinch of basil
Pinch of salt
Blend together all ingredients until receiving the texture desired. The less water you use, the thicker your cheese will be. Set cheese aside.
Basil Pesto:
1 handful of basil, approximately 1/2-3/4 cup
1/3 cup almonds
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
Blend together basil and almonds together, slowly adding lemon juice and olive oil. Blend until it becomes rich, hearty texture.
Now that you have everything ready it's time to prepare your lasagna. Take the zucchini and slice it horizontally into thin slices. I use 5 slices. Start with a layer of zucchini and place tomato slices and basil on top, layer with another slice of zucchini, then spread graciously with cashew cheese, repeat until desired height/amount of lasagna is reached. Top with dried basil and nutritional yeast. Serve, enjoy!!
