Raw Warm Mushroom Casserole

I have been asked by a lot of people who do not eat raw food, how I manage in the winter when it is so cold. Of course, they assume all the food I eat is salad...which I do eat a lot, but actually there are many delicious warm raw foods which can be prepared.  Such as a mushroom casserole I recently made!  

I admit, I was going to make zucchini noodles one night last week, trying out a raw mac and cheese recipe, as it was a cold night and warm food was sounding delicious.  However, I could not get any zucchini at the store, they were out of it!  Not to worry...the mushrooms caught my eye and I began dreaming of a warm, creamy mushroom casserole with a crunchy walnut topping.  

I used flavorful portabellos and crimini mushrooms along with sun dried tomatoes, plenty of alliums and fresh herbs, created a creamy sauce and "baked"it to perfection in the dehydrator.  It smelled amazing and when I finally dove in I was glad I had not been able to buy zucchini.  I admit, I have made this dish a few times since then as it is so good in the winter.  Who says raw food has to be cold salad? 

Raw Warm Mushroom Casserole
Serves 1-2

Veggies:
2 portabellos, sliced
10 crimini mushrooms, sliced
6 dried tomatoes, soaked for at least an hour, drained and sliced
1/2 a small onion, diced
1 Tbsp tamari
1 Tbsp olive oil

Sauce:
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
8 crimini mushrooms
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup filtered water or as needed
1/4 cup pine nuts
sea salt to taste
1 Tbsp fresh rosemary
1 Tbsp fresh thyme

Crumble topping:
1/2 cup walnuts, soaked and dried
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 garlic clove, minced
sea salt to taste

In a large bowl, combine portabellos, crimini mushrooms, tomatoes and half the onion.  Toss with tamari and olive oil and place on a lined dehydrator sheet.  Dehydrate for an hour to soften. 
Meanwhile, add the rest of the onion  to the food processor along with 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, crimini mushrooms, garlic, water, pine nuts, sea salt and herbs, and process until smooth (adding a little more water if too thick. set aside. 
For the crumble topping, combine the walnuts, yeast, garlic, and sea salt in a food processor and process until finely chopped, then add a little water a Tbsp at a time until the mixture starts to clump together.
Once veggie have softened, in a bowl, combine them with the sauce, then pour into a shallow dish and top with the crumble.  Dehydrate an hour more or until warm to your taste.  Serve!