contessa20

This dish was inspired by one by the same name in this month's edition of Vegetarian Times. The picture of it in the magazine looked SO delicious that I couldn't resist trying a Raw Vegan version.

Zucchini Tomato Gratin

2 large beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/8-inch-thick diagonal slices
1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbs. kalamata olives, roughly chopped
1/4 C. basil, chiffonade sliced
1/4 - 1/2 C. rawmesan cheeze (recipe below)

1. Lay the sliced tomatoes and zucchini in a single layer and sprinkle with sea salt. Set aside.

2. Mix olive oil, chopped garlic and basil in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Make rawmesan cheeze. Set aside.

4. Layer tomato slices followed by zucchini slices on the bottom of a glass dish.

5. Top with a sprinkling of the olive oil mix, rawmesan and some chopped olives.

6. Repeat with another layer of tomato and then zucchini slices, olive oil mix, rawmesan and chopped olives.

7. The final layer should be the last few tomato slices in the center of the dish leaving a good bit of the zucchini under-layer exposed. Top with the rest of the olive oil mix, rawmesan and a few chopped olives in the center.

Eat as is or dehydrate slightly until the flavors meld together.


Rawmesan Cheeze
1/4 C. pine nuts
generous dash salt (maybe 2 tsp. or so)
generous dash nutritional yeast (about 1 Tb.)
pinch garlic powder (about 1/4 tsp.)

1. Chop the pine nuts in a manual food chopper such as THIS. I've never had any luck chopping oily nuts like pines in anything other than this manual chopper. In the food processor they never get fine enough and in the coffee grinder it turns to nut butter. The mini chopper makes it a perfect consistency.

2. Add the other dry ingredients and toss together.