Vegan Sriracha ‘Meatballs’ with Noodles and Grilled Vegetables
Cheesy Raw Vegan Zucchini Lasagna
Simon Smith/Vegan 100
Meet the clean-eating version of your favorite comfort food: raw vegan lasagna from Gaz Oakley’s new cookbook Vegan 100. Creamy “cheese” sauce, tomato sauce, herby pesto and shaved veggie lasagna “noodles” come together into delicious rich stacks that won’t weigh you down. Did we mention they’re gluten-free? Comfort food? More like super food.
Ingredients
“Cheese” Sauce
1 cup raw cashew nuts
¾ cup almond milk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Pinch sea salt and pepper
Tomato Sauce
⅓ cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
1 beefsteak tomato
4 tablespoons filtered water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
½ garlic clove
Herby Pesto
Handful of fresh basil
Handful of fresh parsley
½ ripe avocado
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup filtered water
½ cup pine nuts
1 garlic clove
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Pinch sea salt and pepper
Vegetable Layers
2 zucchinis
8 radishes
2 beefsteak tomatoes
Handful of fresh spinach
Handful of fresh basil leaves
Directions
1. Soak the cashew nuts in water for at least 1 hour.
2. Make the Tomato Sauce: Drain the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes and transfer to the bowl of a blender. Add the beefsteak tomato, filtered water, olive oil, lemon juice, basil and garlic. Pulse until the ingredients are combined but still slightly textured.
3. Pour the sauce into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until ready to assemble the lasagna. Wash the blender.
4. Make the “Cheese” Sauce: Drain the soaking water from the cashews; transfer to the blender. Add the almond milk, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, thyme and sea salt and pepper. Blitz the ingredients until you have a silky smooth sauce.
5. Scrape the sauce into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until ready to assemble the lasagna. Wash the blender.
6. Make the Herby Pesto: Blitz the basil, parsley, avocado, olive oil, filtered water, pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice and sea salt and pepper in the blender until smooth. Add a touch more olive oil or some water if your pesto isn’t wet enough. Scrape into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge until ready to assemble the lasagna.
7. Prepare the Vegetable Layers: Using a mandoline on its finest setting, carefully slice the zucchinis lengthways into long strips. Use a sharp knife to slice the radishes and tomatoes as thinly as you can. Wash the spinach and basil leaves.
8. To assemble the lasagna, you can use a square or ring or just layer everything up in a tray. First create a layer with the zucchini slices. Moving upward, layer the radishes, tomatoes, spinach, tomato sauce, cheese sauce and pesto. Repeat the layer once more and garnish the stack with more fresh basil leaves.
Nutrition Facts
674 calories
55g fat
37g carbs
21g protein
12g sugars