Raw Zucchini Lasagna

When it was 90+ degrees outside for days on end, I really didn't feel like turning on the oven or stove.  I surveyed what I had in our CSA box, and we had a few zucchini, and some fresh basil.  I had a bit of leftover fresh mozzarella, a jar of spaghetti sauce and some black olives, so I decided to make some raw lasagna.  It's nice and refreshing on a hot day.  This is a recipe I created last summer when Lee and I were on an extremely restricted diet per our doctor.  It was so tasty, I've been making it ever since!  When I originally made it, we couldn't have dairy, so I pureed some lentils to make a sort of "lentil cream" in place of cheese.  You could probably also just put a layer of cooked lentils in place of the mozzarella.  Either way, it's a nice alternative to lasagna made with pasta noodles.

2 zucchini, ends cut off
1 jar tomato sauce
8-10 leaves fresh basil
1 small can of sliced black olives
1/2 ball fresh mozzarella





Using a mandoline, slice zucchini into thin circles.  You will have a huge pile of slices from one zucchini.  You'll end up using these slices to make your layers of "noodles."  I make each serving separately on a plate, rather than one large serving.  It makes for a nicer presentation.

Once you're done slicing the zucchini, start to create a layer of slices as a base.  Add a few tablespoons of sauce on top of the zucchini slices.  Add some bits of mozzarella, a few snips of basil leaves and few slices of black olives.

Repeat this 3-4 times, depending on how large you want your piece of lasagna to be.  I had about 4 layers in the photo below.  I laid out the zucchini slices in a nice pattern in this one, but you can also just throw down a bunch of slices and then put on the toppings, and it tastes just as good!