Recipe: Roasted Vegetable Lasagna With Cashew ‘Ricotta Cheese’

By: Mark Hyman, MD

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Who says you can’t enjoy comfort food while nourishing your body? Prepare this dish when you want to share a hearty, delicious meal the entire family will love. It’s easy to double this recipe and freeze one for later.

Ingredients

Ingredients for ricotta “cheese”

2 cups raw cashews
1/4 cup of warm water
2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sea salt

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Ingredients for lasagna

1 small eggplant, very thinly sliced lengthwise
1 zucchini, very thinly sliced lengthwise
1 yellow summer squash, very thinly sliced lengthwise
1 bell pepper (any color), seeded and cut into large squares
1⁄4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups Ricotta “cheese”
1 large omega-3 egg, beaten
1⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano
pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

Directions

Make the ricotta cheese: Soak the cashews in a bowl of hot water for at least 1 hour at room temperature or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Drain the cashews and place them in a food processor, along with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and 1⁄4 cup of water. Process the ingredients until a smooth paste forms; you may need to add a bit more water, depending on how long you soaked the cashews.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a large bowl, combine the eggplant, zucchini, summer squash and bell pepper with the oil and salt and toss well. Spread the vegetables in a single layer on two baking sheets and roast until they start to brown and caramelize around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating the sheets half-way through the cooking time.
Remove the baking sheets from the oven and set them aside to cool. Lower the oven temperature to 350°F. While the vegetables are cooling, whisk together the “cheese,” egg, oregano and black pepper in a medium bowl. Spread one-fourth of the mixture in the bottom of a 9-inch square glass baking dish, then spoon 1⁄2 cup of the crushed tomatoes on top. Cover the tomatoes with a layer of one of the types of vegetables. Continue to layer the remaining “cheese,” tomatoes and vegetables until everything is used up, topping off with the tomatoes.
Bake the lasagna for 30 minutes. allow it to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Store any leftover “cheese” in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.