This idea just planted itself in my mind the other day, & I couldn't get it out, so even though it was a bit warm for this kind of food yesterday, I went ahead & made it anyway!
I'm really happy with the result, it was completely delicious, & the simple home made vegan cheese is the best I've ever had! Cheese is based from this recipe.
Zucchini lasagne recipe!
Ingredients:
- 4-6 large Zucchinis - Rinsed with ends trimmed off, then cut across the middle, & finely sliced into wide strips
- Small bunch of Silver beet - Rinsed, drained, & roughly sliced
- Handful of fresh Parsley (optional) - Rinsed, drained & roughly chopped.
For the pasta sauce -
- 1 medium Onion - Finely diced
- 1 clove of Garlic - Very finely chopped (or lightly minced)
- 4 sticks of Celery - Half thin end lengthways, quarter thick ends, then finely slice all
- 4 medium Carrots - Cut thick sticks lengthways, then finely slice all
- 1 700ml bottle of Organic tomato pasta sauce
- 1 Can Organic whole roma tomatoes (chopped or crushed are also fine)
- 1/2 a Vegetable stock cube (I used these)
- Fresh ground Pepper - To taste
- 4 TBS of Mirin (optional)
For the Cheese -
*This cheese recipe requires a Blender (I used a Vitamix, any good blender will do)
- 3/4 cup Raw organic unsalted Cashews - Soaked for 30mins-2hours
- 2 cups of Hot water
- 1 TBS Salt
- 1 TBS fresh Lemon juice
- 1 clove of Garlic - Very finely chopped, or lightly minced
- 4 TBS Flour (Any gluten-free flour will do)
Method:
1. Put the cashews in a bowl of water, & set aside to soak.
2. Prepare the vegetables for the pasta sauce, then add all the pasta sauce ingredients into a large skillet, & cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Sauce is ready when it has reduced & thickened.
3. When the pasta sauce is almost done, drain the cashews, & add them to the blender, along with all the other cheese ingredients. Blend all ingredients on high speed for 1 minute until completely smooth.
4. Transfer the cheese sauce to a medium saucepan & cook over medium heat for approx 5 minutes, stir continuously until sauce thickens & resembles melted cheese, then remove from the heat.
5. Preheat the oven to 160°C (320ºF).
6. Prepare the zucchinis. Cut zucchinis in half across the middle, then finely slice them lengthways to create the zucchini 'pasta' strips. It's a good idea to alternate between cutting strips & assembling the dish, I prepped 2 zucchinis at a time.
7. In a medium baking dish lay down the first layer of zucchini strips covering the bottom of the dish, then spoon on just enough pasta sauce to lightly cover the zucchini. Repeat this process until you reach half way.
8. Roughly slice the silver beet, & spread it over the middle layer of pasta sauce, then use a large spoon to drizzle approx 1/3 of the cheese sauce over the silver beet. Then continue layering zucchini strips & pasta sauce until you reach the top.
9. When you reach the top layer, spoon over the rest of the pasta sauce, if adding fresh parsley, roughly chop it, & sprinkle over the top, then use a large spoon to distribute the cheese sauce, think of it as melted cheese, & blob it around as evenly as you can.
10. Bake at 160°C for 1 hour, or until zucchini is cooked.
Increase the heat to 200°C (392ºF) & bake for an extra 10 minutes to crisp the cheese (optional)
11. MUNCH!
Serves 4.
Lasagne is a bit of an involved meal to make, but it's not complicated, it just takes a bit of time. Allow 3 hours to complete this dish, most of that is cooking time, so don't be intimidated! :p
You can sub spinach for the silver beet, & either basil or oregano for the the parsley if you prefer, just stick to Italian flavors & you'll be fine :)
Please always double check ingredient lists, etc to be sure they are suitable for you.
Prepping the zucchini 'pasta'.
The waiting game...
The cheesy top.
In the words of Francis (Cooking with dog), Good luck in the kitchen! ; )
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