Raw Eggplant Manicotti

www.WeeklyVeganMenu.blogspot.com

Marinate time: 3 hours Soak Time: 30 minutes Dehydrate time: 4 hours

Since Raw Recipes have many different soaking, sprouting, marinating and dehydrating times, I am layering the recipes chronologically - from first to last.

Eggplant:

1 medium eggplant, peeled, sliced length-wise, 1/8 inch, thin

1 1/2 t sea salt

1/4 c lemon juice

2 T olive oil

1 garlic, minced

Salt the eggplant. Set aside for 30 minutes to drain. Drain well and squeeze as much liquid out as you can without destroying the slices.

Mix the lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. Marinate the eggplant that you have salted and squeezed in this marinade for 1-2 hours.

Filling:

1 c macadamia nut

1/2 c cashew nuts

1 c water

1/3 c lemon juice

2 T olive oil

1 garlic

3 T nutritional yeast

1 t sea salt

2-4 T water

Soak the macadamia and cashews in the water for 30 minutes. Drain well.

In a blender, blend the soaked nuts, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, nutritional yeast, salt and 2 T water. If you need to add more water to facilitate blending go ahead, but make sure to keep it to a minimum. The filling is to be smooth as possible but thick. Stop the blender often and scrape the sides. Be patient and don’t give up. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Tomato Sauce:

1 c sun-dried tomatoes

1 c water

1 garlic, chopped

1/4 of a medium red onion

1/2 c basil leaves

1/4 c parsley

1 T fresh oregano or 1 t dried

2 T olive oil

1 T maple syrup or 1 t agave

1 t apple cider vinegar or lemon juice

1/2 t sea salt to taste

3 medium tomatoes, seeded, diced

Soak the sun-tomatoes in the water for 30 minutes. Drain well.

Put the sun-tomatoes, garlic, red onion, basil, parsley and oregano in a food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are well minced. Do not liquefy.

To the food processor add the olive oil, maple syrup or agave, vinegar or lemon juice and salt. Pulse to combine. Remove to a bowl.

To the bowl add the diced fresh tomatoes and mix well. Taste and adjust seasoning.

To assemble and dehydrate:

Drain and using your fingers gently brush off excess marinade from an eggplant slice. Place 2T filling on a short end and roll up like a manicotti pasta. Place on a dehydrator tray. Repeat with each slice of eggplant. Dehydrate for up to 4 hours, your taste preference.

Top with 2-3 T tomato sauce. Garnish with slivers of fresh basil.

** Highlighted are time-consuming procedures. You may overlap these as much as you can to save time.