Gluten-free, vegan (soy-free) lasagna - delicious!

Now that cooler weather is on its way, our appetites begin to crave heartier meals that were simply too heavy in the summer. Those hearty meals are often calorie bombs, but they don't have to be. Today I came up with my own creative variation on a usually calorie-loaded favorite - lasagna. Not only did I make it gluten-free by substituting rice lasagna noodles, I also made it vegan by including no meat and substituting almond cheese for much fattier ricotta/mozzarella/Parmesan blends. The only fat is the olive oil and the 1 g of fat per ounce of the almond cheese (not even 8 oz. total in the dish). My guess is that this dish doesn't even have 5 g of fat per serving, if even that! To make it even better, almost all of the ingredients are local. I just tried my first piece and found it to be delicious - I hope you will too!

The main ingredients: GF lasagna noodles (rice),
tomatoes*, onion*, garlic*, fresh thyme*, oregano*, basil* (from my front porch),
yellow squash*, spinach, shiitake mushrooms*,
almond cheese. Not pictured: olive oil, salt, herbal salt,
sugar, one can of diced tomatoes.
*Indicates local produce either from The Produce Box or the farmers' market.

Cook noodles according to the instructions on the box
so they are ready when it's time to put the lasagna together.

 

First make the sauce: chop the fresh tomatoes.

Add some olive oil to a pot.

Press garlic into the olive oil.

Chop onions.

Add chopped onions to oil and garlic.

Saute until onions become glassy.

Add tomatoes. If you don't have enough fresh, use canned.
I added one can of diced tomatoes in addition to
the 2 fresh tomatoes.

Thyme.

Thyme and oregano.

Chop basil (yes it is huge - it's mammoth basil)

All three herbs: thyme, oregano and basil

Add fresh herbs to simmering sauce. Also add
a bit of salt (ground sea salt) and herbal salt.

 

Add a bit less than a tablespoon of sugar (organic),
just to taste.

Let simmer for 15-20 minutes. It tastes wonderful!

Now for the vegetable filling. Add olive oil to pan.

Chop onion.

Saute onion and garlic in the olive oil.

Chop shiitake mushrooms.

Add to onion and garlic and continue to saute.

Chop squash.

Add squash to pan and cook until it starts to brown.

The same 3 fresh herbs as in the sauce.

Add herbs to the vegetables.

Add spinach.

Cover and allow spinach to steam for 3-5 minutes.

It should look like this.

Grate almond cheese - it's easiest if
you use a food processor.

Grated almond cheese.

Start by putting about 1/3 of the sauce in the
bottom of the pan.

Cover with 3 cooked noodles.

Cover with half of the vegetables.

Sprinkle a layer of almond cheese.

Cover with another 1/3 of the sauce and cover
with another 3 noodles.

Cover with the other half of the vegetables.

Sprinkle some more almond cheese.

Cover with another 3 noodles.

Cover with the last of the sauce.

Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese. Then cover
with aluminum foil and bake at 350° F (170° C)
for 30 minutes.

It should look something like this when it is done.

Serve up on a plate (decorated here with
Crema di Balsamico) and enjoy! Buon appetito!