Ingredients:
2 boxes of any lasagna noodles (I prefer these brown rice lentil ones)
3 zucchinis, thinly sliced
1 large (or 2 small) eggplants, thinly sliced
6 carrots, thinly sliced (optional)
3 jars of any organic tomato sauce (I used this tomato basil one)
Vegan cheese shreds for topping (I used this)
Optional Kite Hill Ricotta for serving
For the make-ahead cashew cheese sauce (shortcut- sub with 4 containers of Kite Hill Ricotta):
3 cups of raw cashews
Squeeze of half a lemon
1/2 of a medium red onion
1 1/2 cups of nutritional yeast
Generous salt to taste
Water for blending
For the make-ahead pesto (or skip if you don't have a food processor):
4 large handfuls of fresh basil
1 cup of pine nuts (or sub for walnuts)
2 large cloves of garlic
Squeeze of 1/4 of a lemon
1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
Olive oil for blending
Salt to taste
Instructions:
Make your sauce and pesto ahead of time to make assembling the lasagna easier. For the cashew sauce add all ingredients to a food processor or high powered blender, adding water slowly and salt to taste until you have a thick hummus consistency. For the pesto I like to toast the pine nuts quickly on a skillet or in the oven on broil to bring out the flavor. I then add them with all remaining ingredients to a food processor, slowly adding a drizzle of olive oil, blending until thick pesto consistency. Store in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the lasagna.
Pre-heat oven to 400F or 200C.
Using a mandolin (and being careful!), cut the eggplant and zucchini in half the long way and run them down the mandolin to make flat layers for the lasagna. If you don't have a mandolin you can use a sharp knife to slice long and thinly. Slice optional carrots into thin circles with a knife. Set your sliced veggies aside.
For assembling spread one jar of tomato sauce on the bottom of a lasagna baking dish. Layer with noodles, followed by layers of alternating eggplant and zucchini. Take cashew sauce and spread over the veggies covering them fully. Add optional carrots followed by small dollops of the pesto. Add another layer of noodles, followed by more tomato sauce and layered veggies, continuing the process until you reach the top of the lasagna pan. For the final layer top with a layer of noodles, generous tomato sauce (so noodles don't get hard) and vegan cheese shreds.
Bake for 40-45 minutes. Option to serve with fresh dollops of Kite Hill ricotta.