Paleo Summer Veg Lasagna

Looking for a dairy free, gluten free alternative to a fav italian comfort food?  Your wish has been granted!  I promise you won’t miss the gluten or cheese because this dish is surprisingly satisfying and ultra tasty; the vegan ricotta is out of this world! You can add gluten free lasagna noodles if you prefer but I found it super delish even without the noods in there!  As a plus, the eggplant, zucchini, summer squash and basil are all seasonal veggies to the Boston area right now.  Always eat locally grown before organic guys!  Most of the veg in this dish were used from my CSA allotment with Stillman’s farm :). 

PS: this dish uses grassfed ground beef; one of the best sources in the diet of an immune system boosting fat called conjugated linoleic acid (CLA)-this is now being linked with fighting inflammation and cancer!

What you need:

Lasagna

• ½ pound grass fed ground beef

• 1 small eggplant

• 1 zucchini

• 1 yellow summer squash

• 1 large (32 oz) can organic tomato puree

• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil + more for garnishing

• 2-3 cloves of garlic-minced

• Dash of oregano

• 1 tsp salt + more to taste

• olive oil to taste

• avocado oil

Vegan Spinach Ricotta:

• 1 cup raw cashews

• 10-12 ounce firm or extra-firm tofu pressed/drained

• 1 cup spinach

• handful fresh basil leaves

• 1 large clove of garlic

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons miso (make sure gluten free; I used Miso Master)

• 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes

How you do it:

Prep the veggies:

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Slice eggplant, zucchini and squash into long thin slices (~¼ inch thick if possible)

3. Lay out slices and sprinkle with salt; let sit for 10-15 minutes

4. Generously pour avocado oil in a pan and heat on medium

5. Lightly cook the eggplant slices ~3-4 minutes on each side until just browned (zucchini/squash don’t need to be pre-cooked)

Make the sauce:

1. Add a drizzle of olive oil or avocado oil to a pot on low; saute minced garlic, salt until lightly sizzling

2. Add tomato puree and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer

3. Add chopped fresh basil and oregano; let simmer for 10 minutes

4. In the same pan you cooked the eggplant add the ground beef and cook on low

5. Cover and cook for ~10-15 minutes until meat is no longer pink

6. Spoon ½ the sauce over the meat and set aside

Make the vegan ricotta:

1. In a food processor: blend cashews, garlic, miso, salt and nutritional yeast until the mixture resembles a grated cheese

2. Add the drained tofu, spinach, basil and pulse until thick (should resemble a pale green ricotta)

Assemble the lasagna:

1. Spread one cup of the sauce in the bottom of a large dish (I used a rounded 9×13 pan)

2. Layer 1 layer each of cooked eggplant, zucchini and summer squash

3. Spread ½ of the vegan ricotta over the veggies

4. Layer all of the meat sauce over the ricotta layer

5. Repeat steps 2 and 3 above

6. Layer remaining plain tomato sauce over the top and place in the oven

7. Bake uncovered for 40-45 minutes or until bubbling

8. Let lasagna stand for 15 minutes before eating; top with more fresh chopped basil & serve!