If you haven’t ventured into raw food preparation before, there are many reasons why giving it a go is a great idea. Adding organic raw food to your daily diet is not only good for your skin, but also boasts denser nutrients and more fibre than traditionally cooked foods.
Russell James is a raw food chef who discovered the lifestyle after dealing with acne and bad skin conditions for years. His search for answers lead to his current profession as one of the industry’s best known raw food educators.
I love so many of his dishes and am excited to share this delicious raw lasagne recipe with you — not only does it taste amazing, every ingredient is good for you.
If decadent desserts are more your thing, check out The Raw Chef’s Chocolate Recipes.
Lasagne Recipe
Serves 9 large portions. Can be made in a 33 x 27cm (or similar size) lasagne dish, or made as individual portions on the plate.
Nut Cheese
2c macadamias
1c pine nuts
2 T lemon juice
2 T nutritional yeast
2 yellow peppers
2T fresh parsley
1T fresh thyme
2t salt ½c water as needed
- Process all ingredients together adding as little of the water as possible until a fluffy consistency is achieved.
Walnut Meat Layer
1 c walnuts soaked 1 hour or more
1c sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 1 hour or more
2T dark/brown miso
2t dried oregano
2t dried sage
5T nama shoyu
½t cayenne pepper
2T olive oil
1T agave nectar
1t sea salt
- Grind all ingredients in a food processor, leaving the mixture slightly chunky.
Tomato sauce
1 ½c sun dried tomatoes
2 soft dates
2 cloves garlic
2c tomato, seeded and chopped
1 ½T dried oregano
2t salt (depending on how salty your s/d toms are)
1/3c olive oil
2T lemon juice
- Process in a food processor until smooth.
Green pesto
2 c tightly packed basil leaves
¾c pine nuts or walnuts
½c olive oil
1t salt
1 clove garlic
1T lemon juice
- Process all ingredients, leaving plenty of chunkiness!
Spinach Layer
6c torn spinach
5T dried oregano
3T olive oil
2t sea salt
- Place all ingredients in a bowl to marinade and wilt for 1 hour or longer, putting the covered bowl in a dehydrator will help this process but it’s not essential.
For the assembly
5 medium courgettes (zucchini), cut lengthwise and marinated in 2T of salt and 3T olive oil for 10 minutes.
Pinch black pepper
Assembly method:
- Line the base of your dish with a layer of the courgette strips that slightly overlap.
- On top of this put down a layer of the walnut meat, then the cheese, then tomato sauce and finally the pesto on top. Finish this with another layer of slightly overlapping courgette strips.
- Repeat step 2 but before adding the final layer of courgette, take your wilted spinach and create an additional layer with that.
- Placing the whole dish in the fridge for several hours will firm it all up slightly which will make it easier to cut into portions.
- Garnish individual portions with black pepper and a sprig of basil.
For dessert? Check out an earlier post featuring Russell’s Maca Icecream and Cacao Crackle Sandwiches.
