Easy No-Bake Veggie Lasagna

• 4-6 large zucchini
• 1 bunch kale
• 3-4 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1-2 tsp sea salt
• Your favorite tomato sauce
• Shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese

Remove stems from kale leaves with a knife or tear the leaves from the stems. Blend kale leaves with lemon juice and salt in the food processor. Let marinate to soften, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, peel zucchini. Using a mandolin or peeler, slice zucchini into long strips lengthwise. When you reach the seeds, do the other side (no seeds in the slices; save these bits for another recipe). In a square pan, layer slightly overlapping slices of zucchini to cover the bottom (cut slices to fit pan as needed). You can add a second layer of zucchini “lasagna noodles,” if you like. Spoon tomato sauce over the zucchini noodles. Next, add a layer of marinated kale, then top with a layer of shredded cheese. Cover with a layer of overlapping zucchini slices. Repeat this process a second or third time (sauce, kale and cheese then zucchini slices). Top with a final layer of tomato sauce. Serve or refrigerate before serving. Cut into square pieces and lift out with a spatula.

Tip: if you find your lasagna falls apart too easily, line your square pan with parchment paper first before making the lasagna. Refrigerate to set. Gently lift out the lasagna (with the parchment paper) onto a serving plate and slice into squares before serving. Gently pushing down on each layer while making the lasagna will also help, as will making sure the tomato sauce you use is thick and not on the runny side.

Variation: sprinkle nutritional yeast on the top layer of tomato sauce.
Variation: Add in 1/3-1/2 cup nutritional yeast to your tomato sauce to give it a cheesy feel.
Variation: Use spinach instead of kale or use a combination of spinach/kale.
Variation: Use your favorite nut paté instead of the cheese.

Note: We tried this last night and while there might need to be some tweaking of the directions, it was quite delicious. I wasn’t entirely satisfied with how blending the kale with lemon juice worked out. Doing it in the food processor might have been more successful and I’ll try that next time. Also, a mandolin or some such is necessary to make the noodles. Mine works well, but it’s protective hand guard isn’t shaped quite right for zucchini, so I’ll have to figure out a better way (it was the first time I used it, so practice may be all that is necessary).