Raw Lasagna - Marinated Portobello with Vegan Herb "Cheese"

Raw Vegan Lasagna

Raw Lasagna - YUM!  As you can probably tell I love making raw lasagna.  It's one of Mark's favorites, besides my raw tacos, burritos, etc.  It's so easy too.  Of course there is some food prep depending on what you have in the fridge and how you want to make it, but for the most part it is so easy it's crazy.

Marinated Portobello with Vegan Herb "Cheese" Raw Lasagna

This one I made a little heartier by using Portobello mushrooms which I marinated for extra flavor and to soften them up a bit.  I also dehydrated them, but no worries if you do not have a dehydrator as you don't have to do that step.  It just gives them a more "cooked" like texture and appearance.  

Raw Vegan Lasagna - Yum!

The "cheese" is a variation of many of my other hemp "cheese" recipes.  I don't always have fresh herbs on hand, which are always the best, so I use dried in those cases - use whatever you like though.  For the red sauce... well I change it up here and there all the time, but here's this version.  Feel free to change it up to your taste buds.  That's the beauty of raw foods!


Raw Lasagna - Marinated Portobello
with Vegan Herb "Cheese"
this made 2 huge platefuls

Marinated Portobello Mushrooms
2-3 Portobello's, degilled and sliced thick (I used 2 large)
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar (I use a raw gluten-free version)
1 Tbs Braggs or Tamari
1 Tbs EVO (extra virgin olive oil)
1/2 Tbs Agave
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Combine the marinade ingredients in a small bowl.  Place the sliced portobellos into a Ziploc bag or other container and pour the marinade into the bag.  Try to coat each one as well as you can.  It may seem as if there is not enough marinade, but the shrooms will develop juice while marinating.  Marinate in fridge for at least 6-8 hours - the longer the better.  Every so often I gently turned the bag over a few times to coat.  When ready to layer, simply remove the shrooms from the bag and let rest to drain onto a paper towel lined plate or cutting board. Or...

*optional* After marinating, place on lined dehydrator tray and dehydrate at 115° F for approximately 1-2 hours, or longer if you wish.

Tomato Sauce
1/4 cup heaping sundried tomatoes - soaked until softened, then drain
2 medium tomatoes - roughly chopped
1/4 heaping cup onion - roughly chopped
1 medjool date
1 large clove garlic - minced
5-6 basil leaves - chopped
1 long sprig rosemary
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
black pepper - few turns or to taste
pinch sea salt

Process in food processor.  Mixture will be thick.  I don't like my lasagna wet and soppy, so I strain my sauce.  Put the tomato mixture into a fine to medium mesh strainer placed over a bowl and set aside to drain while you prepare the rest of the lasagna ingredients.

Hemp Herb "Cheese"
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
1 large garlic clove
1 cup hemp heart seeds
small handful fresh basil
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
juice from 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp sea salt
water as needed

Blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy.  I like this "cheese" to be a little on the thick side as it works best for spreading on the zucchini layers.  If it is too thick, thin it out with water, a little at a time, until desired consistency.

Spinach Layer
Fresh baby spinach - roughly chopped or torn
amount will vary, use as much or as little as you want

Zucchini noodles
I used 3 zucchinis - sizes vary so use however many you need

I made the noodles with my mandolin - a bit thicker than usual due to the amount of veggies that I was using.  They soften up like noodles while in the fridge for a couple hours and are so yummy!  Anyway, you can also slice them with a knife if you don't have a mandolin.

Let the layering begin!  I used 2 zucchini noodles for each layer that I partially overlapped to make a hearty lasagna serving.  I put a good layer of the herb "cheese" on both sides of the zucchini noodle layers so that it would hold in the veggie layers all nice and snuggly - except when I layered with the red sauce.  You can see how I layered mine, but feel free to layer in any order you wish. 

This can be served immediately, or put in the fridge for 1-2 hours to let the flavors mingle and the zucchini noodles soften.  Enjoy!

Peace☮
Rocki