dinner, I decided to find out if just a tiny tweak to a classic recipe – swapping out the meat, of course – could still be just as satisfying. When it comes to meat substitutes, I find there’s no better example of the saying “different strokes for different folks.” Some people find products designed to emulate real meat to be just as delicious as the original, while purists may prefer foods naturally bursting with umami flavor, like mushrooms, to be a better match. Here, I used product called neat (made from chickpeas, nuts and oats) but I’ve left the recipe open to the chef’s personal preference. Why not try a few different options and see what works best for your dinner crowd? My guests loved this version, and didn’t notice the meat was missing at all! Ingredients:
1 (15 oz.) container ricotta cheese1 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese1 egg1 (24 oz.) jar tomato sauce9 no-boil lasagna noodles1 cup desired meat substitute (such as sautéed mushrooms, seasoned crumbled tofu, or a meatless ground beef-style product)
What to do:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Prepare meat substitute as desired.Empty tomato sauce into a large bowl. Fill the jar with 1/2 cup water, shake, and pour contents into bowl. Add meat substitute and stir to combine.Into another bowl, combine ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella cheese and egg.Spread 1 cup of tomato sauce mixture across the bottom of a 9 x 9 panLayer three uncooked noodles, then another 1 cup sauce mixture and half of the ricotta cheese mixture; repeat. Top with remaining three uncooked noodles and remaining sauce mixture.Top mixture with parmesan and remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.Lightly oil one side of a sheet of foil and cover pan tightly.Bake for 50 minutes; remove foil and bake 10 minutes more to brown top. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.
