Oven Love: Portovegetable Lasagna

 
Yet another request from and the ever lovely Rachel :) I present to you a dairy-free, egg-free, vegan "cheesy" lasagna. I know it's technically an Italian dish, but to me it's about as American as apple pie. That said it doesn't mean it's not a classic :)

This is the first time I made lasagna without it coming frozen from a box. It was especially fun since I didn't really follow a recipe, I just kind of took what I basically knew about lasagna and ran with it! Seriously I couldn't be more pleased, it was fabulous :) I celebrated with a good dance around the kitchen, obvs.

Portovegetable Lasagna: serves 4

• 4-6 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 2/3c onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 portobello caps
• 2T balsamic vinegar
• 1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise
• 4 large asparagus spears, bottoms removed and chopped
• 4 small sweet peppers or 1 large bell pepper, sliced
• 1/3c carrot finely shredded
• 1 - 1 1/2c marinara sauce
• 1/2c fresh parsley, chopped
• cashew "cheese"
• 1c raw cashews
• 1/4c water
• 2T nutritional yeast
• 1T white wine
  
• 1t garlic
• 1t sea salt

Cook noodles according to package directions. Heat nonstick skillet over medium - med-low heat and saute onions and garlic 5-7 minutes until soft. Remove pan and set aside. Slice portobello caps lengthwise 1/4" thin and set aside in a bowl, pour balsamic vinegar over the top and let marinade for a couple of minutes. Chop remaining veggies. Saute portobellos until soft (about 3 minutes), remove from pan and toss with onion mixture, set aside. Saute zucchini until soft (about 3-5 minutes) again, remove from pan and set aside (separate from onion/portobello mixture). Saute asparagus and peppers 3-5 minutes, remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350. In a 2.5qt casserole dish spread enough of the sauce to lightly cover the bottom (and prevent the pasta from sticking to it) Layer: 2-3 lasangia noodles, the portobello and onion mixture and 2/3rds of the shredded carrots. Next lay out the zucchini slices (as you would the pasta), top with 1/2 of the remaining sauce top with 1/2 of the cashew "cheese" top with asparagus and peppers and 2/3rds of the parsley. Cover with remaining noodles, sauce, "cheese" and sprinkle with remaining carrots and parsley. Bake 30-45 minutes.