Zucchini lasagna with cashew cream

Yesterday at the market, I found some beautiful zucchinis that I really wanted to cook today. I decided to try out making zucchini lasagna: you use thin zucchini slices instead of pasta. Sounds good, right?

This is a fun recipe because you can really decide on what you want to add as your layers. I went for a more traditional tomato sauce with a lot of fresh thyme and some cashew cream to give it a ricotta cheese feel. It was really good! The only thing I would say it to keep in mind that your zucchinis will give out a lot of water as they cook: make sure the different dressings you are adding are not too liquid or you will end up with a lot of extra sauce!

Here is what you need:

For the tomato sauce:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 5 tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbs miso paste
• 1 tbs tamari sauce
• 1 tbs fresh thyme leaves
• 1 pinch of red pepper flakes

For the cashew cream:

• 2 cups raw cashew nuts
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tbs hemp seeds
• salt and pepper to taste

Additional ingredients:

• 3 medium-size zucchini squashes
• 4 cups of shredded kale
• 2 tbs fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 cup walnuts

Here is what you do:

For the tomato sauce:

1. Thinly mince the garlic cloves and dice the tomatoes. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil on medium heat, and add the garlic. Let cook until golden.
3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, miso paste, thyme leaves and tamari sauce. Mix until everything is dissolved and well combined.
4. Let simmer until the tomatoes are completely mushed and the sauce thickens up.
5. Season to your taste.
6. Set aside.

For the cashew cream:

1. Place all the ingredients in your food processor or blender and mix until smooth.
2. Set aside.

For the noodles:

1. Using your potato peeler, peel long strips of zucchini and set aside. I find it helps to keep the stem of the zucchini and use it as a handle. When you get to the middle of your squash, just flip and start over on the other side.

To assemble:

1. Place some zucchini noodles on the bottom of your lasagna dish (or pie plate if you don’t have one like me…) in an even layer.
2. Place an even layer of kale on top.
3. Place a layer of cashew cream.
4. Place a layer of tomato sauce.
5. Sprinkle some walnuts and some thyme leaves.
6. Repeat until you reach the top of your dish and end with a layer of cashew cream. Sprinkle some thyme leaves and red pepper flakes.
7. Place the lasagna dish on a cookie sheet, and put in the oven set at 350F for 20 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the lasagna cool in it until you are ready to serve. Enjoy!

This was amazing! I served each lasagna piece on a bed of fresh lettuce to add some green to the mix and it was great! The zucchini is tender but not mushy, while the cashew cream is a dream: rich and, well, creamy, it really feels like ricotta cheese. The thyme adds a touch of freshness to the mix, while the walnuts add a nice bite to the dish. This is a great alternative if you want a gluten-free lasagna. It can also be customized to your own liking in a breeze! Let me know if you try it out!