Clean Eating's No-Bake Zucchini Lasagna (Gluten Free and Vegan)

When I first saw this recipe for zucchini lasagna in the March 2013 issue of Clean Eating Magazine, I thought it was....well.... cooked. After all, why would it be raw? That just didn't make sense to me.  I quickly scanned the recipe and noticed there was zero heat involved.....and indeed it was a raw lasagna (well, not all the ingredients are technically "raw", I suppose, ex: the nutritional yeast).  I showed Nick the recipe and he cringed.  That's fine, he's pretty great at trying most of the things I make, but this recipe just wasn't calling his name (plus anything with nutritional yeast in it is an automatic "no, no" for him).  I'm typically a fan of eating things really hot so to be honest I was hesitant about this recipe for a while myself, but let me tell you, I am so glad I ended up making it.  It was amazing!

No-Bake Zucchini Lasagna 

Vegan, Gluten-Free

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 cup salted cashews **

1 clove garlic, chopped **

1/8 cup fresh lemon juice

1.5 cups cherry or grape tomatoes

2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 Medjool date, pitted **

1/2 tsp ground oregano

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. dried rosemary

3 to 4 zucchini, trimmed, halved crosswise and thinly sliced lengthwise

2 to 3 beefsteak tomatoes, thinly sliced widthwise

1/4 cup pitted black olives

2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast

Directions

1.  Prepare the "cheese" first.  In a small food processor or powerful blender combine the cashews, garlic and salt; process into a fine powder.  Add the lemon juice and 1/8 cup water to process until thick and creamy (**Note, if you use peanuts this may not blend quite as well.  My "cheese" was a bit chunky, but still very tasty when eaten together with the rest of the ingredients in this recipe!)

2.  Prepare the sauce in a blender by combining all the sauce ingredients; tomatoes, EVOO, date, oregano, salt and rosemary.

3.  Just before serving, arrange the lasagna on individual serving plates: Spread half of the zucchini over bottom, followed by half the tomatoes, "cheese", sauce and olives.  Repeat with remaining half ingredients, dividing evenly.  Sprinkle nutritional yeast over each serving. Enjoy!

**NOTE:  If you are following a low FODMAPS use peanuts instead of cashews, and use garlic or tuscan-infused olive oil instead of plain olive oil (and omit the garlic).  Also, keep in mind that dates contain FODMAPs, but the one date in this recipe shouldn't cause any problems.

Estimated Nutrition Facts for 1-serving
Source: CalorieCount.com

Nutrition Highlights:  Good source of fiber, protein, and vitamin A, excellent source of vitamin C and iron.

I'm sure you're wondering how the heck I cut into this bad boy.

With a sharp knife, and fork, of course.

And yes, it was messy. Juices flowing everywhere.

But the flavor?  It was worth every messy bite.

Maybe this whole raw thing isn't so bad after all.

QUESTION:  Have you ever had an uncooked lasagna (or any other food that is typically eaten cooked/hot)?

Thanks for reading!

The Candid Rd