Vegetarian Lasagna

pwarbi said:
Bland. That's probably the best description of a poorly made vegetarian dish, to be honest. I often find that if I'm eating one, and I do occasionally, I get a feeling that it's never spicy enough, and a bit plain. I'm always left feeling like there's something missing...well, I guess there is...the meat!
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To be fair, a meat dish that is also not well prepared can be a frigging disaster -- undercooked meat is downright dangerous in many cases, and overcooked is dry and unpleasant. But most people are used to cooking it (or at least their favorite cuts), so it's usually not too common to get bland and bad meat (though knowing my fair share of bad cooks, it happened more than just a few times!).

Now, as a vegetarian too, I used to think any dish without meat was also lacking, so I know where you're coming from. My tastebuds (and mentality) changed somewhere along the way though. Now I got to this point where I'll think the opposite, whenever I would eat the meat my BF was about to throw away -- "Meh. It's fine, but my meal really did not need this to taste good".

But I'll also attribute it to the fact that after years of cooking (mostly as a huge meat eater, btw), I know exactly what I like -- spices, herbs, textures, balances of sweet and spicy and sour, all that. So when I cook for myself, I can make it exactly the way I want, meat or no meat, and it's never bland (I mean, I love spicy, so it really never is bland, but that's another story).

Now before drifting further away,

I just came here to say that I had an amazing vegetarian lasagne in a restaurant nearby. I swear, it had just like... two layers or three of pasta, but I think it was two. Spinach, mushrooms, a ton of cheese and béchamel sauce. So fat, cheesy, "full" -- and just a bit of that spicy italian oil on top of it made for a really onctuous and lively mouthful. Yumm! (It tasted in NO way healthy, btw, just delicious)
 
Vegetarian lasagnas may have no meat in them, but aren't always as healthy as you think. Besides as @Joie d'Etre says lots of cheese and béchamel sauce, not all cheeses are vegetarian (like pesto) , so it depends on how strict a vegetarian you are.

I think if you are eating out (unless it's a vegetarian or organic place) it's more than likely that not all the products are strictly vegetarian. Many places and not just Italian will consider any dish without meat vegetarian these days.
 
I love vegetarian lasagna! And yes, I've had the kind with tofu. It's still really delicious! There's also the kind with just eggplants, and I've had some with types of squash in them too.
 
Thay actually sounds really good! I'm not a huge fan of lasagna because I feel like it's too heavy with all the meat, pasta and cheese. However substituting veggies for meat sounds like it would be a lot lighter. I think I will try this receipe.
 
When it comes to Vegetarian lasagna, I'm not a big fan of lasagna with vegetables, especially if it is with a red sauce. However, I do love a gourmet mushroom lasagna. Something with porcini mushrooms and a béchamel sauce is delicious.
 
It is so much healthier then regular lasagna. I agree that it is definitely easier on the stomach and its a great way to sneak in veggies. I've never tried it but have seen it on the menu at a lot of Italian restaurants. I would be open to trying it. However, I don't know if my family would go for it.
 
I'm the same really and I'm definitely a more meat the better kind of person but each to their own I guess.

Vegetarian dishes are becoming more and more popular, even with non vegetarians as an alternative to the usual dishes served but I tend to prefer my order to be more of the usual.
 
Zucchini Lasagna Recipe: Here's a recipe for "Mock Lasagna" made with zucchini, onions, tomatoes, and cheese. No pasta!

Ingredients
2 cups zucchini, sliced
1 cup sliced onion, separated into rings
2 cups tomato, sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon McCormick Italian seasoning
pinch garlic
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
• Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan
• Put 1 layer of zucchini in bottom of baking pan
• Add 1 layer onion
• Add 1 layer tomato slices
• Sprinkle with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic
• Spread with 1/2 of cottage cheese
• Sprinkle with 1/2 of mozzarella cheese
• Repeat all layers
• Bake for 40 minutes
 
We made similar in a hotel kitchen where I worked but it was with beans and it was hot. This one had tomato sauce but we had one with Bechamel and leek, spinach and broccoli. Being a vegetarian leaves me a lot of room to experiment so I did because I love Lasagna and pasta in general. The one with grilled zucchini and eggplant is one of my favourites but it is a bit long so I am not going to leave a recipe now. Either way the one in your post sound delicious. I am going to try it.
 
I also find that the taste and flavours of a dish can be different because of the way it's cooked and what it a cooked with. I could use the exact same ingredients as on that recipe for example, and it will taste different to what another person's would who used the exact same.
 
It does not sound delicious for me and I cannot imagine that it is delicious. Sorry but I am more the type of human who is more concentrated on meat than vegetables.
 
edustadar001 said:
It does not sound delicious for me and I cannot imagine that it is delicious. Sorry but I am more the type of human who is more concentrated on meat than vegetables.
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I'm the same and if a dish is usually made with neat, then making it with a substitute never tastes right for me either.

People do have different tastes though we shouldn't forget and if a vegetarian wants lasagne for example then there should be that option there for them.
 
Lasagna always has to have pasta to me. Pesto lasagna is simply pesto baked lasagna sheets, sometimes with a cheese sauce, but not always. You will find in the north lasagna dishes like this which is quite traditional. Usually spinach lasagna sheets are used in this dish, but there are more layers to a dish like this, often 5-6 layers. If you find it in a traditional osteria, I'm sure it will be good.
 
I’m not a vegetarian, but sometimes it’s nice to have a break from meat and the vegetarian version is a good option.

That said, if I had to pick between the two, the meat version wins, but I guess it’s all down to personal preference.
 
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