TASTY TUESDAYS // Elena Hight’s Vegan Veggie Pesto Lasagna

ELENA HIGHT’S FAVORITE RECIPES: GLUTEN FREE VEGAN VEGGIE PESTO LASAGNA

It’s the last Tasty Tuesday of the month, which means we are so excited to welcome back Team B4BC rider Elena Hight to be our guest chef!  This gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian spin on a delicious, hearty lasagna dish is absolutely UNREAL.  With whole wheat pasta, pumpkin instead of cheese, and pesto instead of marinara sauce, this recipe is so freakin’ healthy and delicious, we can’t even handle it.  Lasagna tonight!

From Elena:

One of my favorite comfort foods from my childhood is lasagna. My grandmother used to make the most amazing lasagna and just thinking about it makes me smile. I love this recipe because it takes a dish that is known to be super heavy and filling and makes it light and delicious. I substitute pumpkin for cheese and pesto for marinara sauce. The pumpkin makes it creamy and the pesto goes perfect with the sweetness of the pumpkin. Enjoy lasagna again and let the childhood memories flood back in. 🙂

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

Pesto Sauce

• 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 cup basil
• 3-5 cloves of garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Extra bits of olive oil

Lasagna

• Brown rice lasagna noodles
• 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 zucchini
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 small eggplant
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 1 cup spinach
• 1 can pumpkin

DIRECTIONS

1. – Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. – Add all pesto ingredients to blender and blend until smooth, adding extra oil to get the consistency desired.
3. – Boil brown rice noodles according to directions on the box.
4. 
5. – Heat olive oil in large sauté pan. Sauté all veggies for 3-5 minutes, just to soften.
6. – Drain brown rice noodles and place one layer of noodles on the bottom of a glass baking pan.
7. – Spread 1/3 of the pumpkin over the noodles.
8. – Place one layer of mixed veggies over noodles and pumpkin.
9. 
10. – Cover with 1/3 pesto sauce.
11. – Continue to layer noodles, pumpkin, veggies and pesto until all ingredients are used.
12. – Place baking dish in oven.
13. – Bake lasagna for 20-30 minutes depending on thickness.
14. – Remove from heat and enjoy!