the unPasta Lasagna

Lasagna without cheese or pasta? You may be skeptical but this just became our newest family favorite comfort food. Not only is it wheat-free, dairy-free, and egg-free, it is easily adapted to a completely vegetarian/vegan dish. We’ve included the flavor of hot Italian sausage because, well, we like it. Here in Anchorage, New Sagaya’s store brand uses an excellent and tasteful seasoning without added sugar. Or buy sugar-free and grassfed meat products online. Or, if meat isn’t part of your diet then go ahead and leave it out. This dish is rich and excellent and its adaptations are limitless. In fact, I hope you’re own inspired versions come back to me in the comments section, below.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

½ cup almonds
½ cup pecans
1 onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
Black pepper, to taste
¼ cup water
28 oz can organic crushed tomatoes
1½ pound (6 links, skinned) hot Italian sausage (grass fed, no sugar added. In Anchorage, we love the New Sagaya brand)
½ pound sliced crimini or shitake mushrooms
1 Tbs arrowroot flour plus 2 Tbs water
2 zucchini
2 cups spinach, washed thoroughly and chopped
1 cup fresh basil leaves, washed and chopped
8 oz Almond Mozzarella-style cheese (Liseratti brand is available in Anchorage), grated

Preparation:

1. Combine the nuts, onion, garlic, spices and water in a food processor or Magic Bullet. Puree until smooth adjusting the water as needed to approach the texture of Ricotta cheese.

2. Put the tomatoes in a saucepan and crumble in the Italian sausage. Add the sliced mushrooms and simmer until the sausage is cooked through. Continue to simmer until the liquid is reduced by about half.

3. Mix the arrowroot into 2 Tablespoons of water ensuring there are no lumps. Mix into the tomato sauce and remove from heat.

4. Thinly slice the zucchini lengthwise to approximate the shape of lasagna noodles.

5. Oil an 8×12 or so baking dish and put a small amount of sauce in the bottom.

6. Add a layer of zucchini, then half the nut mixture, half the chopped spinach and basil and half the sauce.

7. Sprinkle half the grated Almond Mozzarella cheese and then repeat the layering in step six but do not add the final topping of Almond Mozzarella just yet.

8. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes at 350oC.

9. Remove the foil and sprinkle with the remaining Almond Mozzarella. Continue baking for another 30 minutes until cooked through and the cheese is nicely melted.

10. Serve immediately with a nice side salad.

Variations:

For a completely vegetarian or vegan dish, omit the sausage and adjust the spices to your taste.
Use eggplant instead of zucchini.
Experiment with other root vegetables.