Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Slice the zucchini lengthwise into thin slabs, aiming for each slab to be about ⅛ inch thick. Lightly brush the tops and bottoms of the slices with the olive oil and arrange them on several parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
• Bake the zucchini slices for about 20 minutes, until they've softened and some have browned a bit at the edges.
• Make the ricotta filling while the zucchini bakes. Place the cashews, water, and garlic into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an s-blade. Blend the mixture until it is relatively smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Break the block of tofu into a few chunks and add them to the food processor bowl, along with the basil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pulse the machine until the ingredients are combined, but the mixture is still slightly chunky, like ricotta cheese. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl when needed.
• Ladle about one cup of sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Arrange a third of your zucchini slices over the sauce, then spread half of your ricotta over the zucchini. Ladle about a half cup of sauce over the ricotta. Repeat the layering arrangement starting with another third of your zucchini. Top the lasagna with a final layer of zucchini and the remaining sauce. Sprinkle the lasagna with cheese if using.
• Bake the lasagna for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly. Keep an eye on it and cover the dish with foil if it starts to burn around the edges.
• Let the lasagna sit for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing and serving.