I picked up a copy of Company's Coming / Simply Vegetarian booklet at Fortino's the other day. It is a small collection of vegetarian and some vegan recipes, inexpensive at $4.99. Actually, I was thinking of buying a few more to hand out to friends and family who are still very apprehensive about having to prepare vegetarian dishes.
One of the recipes is this Tortilla Lasagna, which I was going to prepare with the suggested ingredients of cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese. However, my son Matt, balked at this and goaded me into sticking to my "vegan guns" so to speak. (Thanks Matt for keeping your Ma on the straight and narrow!!)
I prepared the dish with tofu and vegan cheese and lots of "Italian" spices and I must say, the result was excellent. (Even my husband tried a wedge and announced it was "OK"...high praise from him as he is not a big fan of tofu!) But really, I was pleasantly surprised and very pleased with the results.
- 2 cups thick tomato sauce,
- 1/2 package of veggie ground round (170 gm approx.)
- (I used the faux chicken ground by Yves),
- 1/2 tub (212 gm approx.) of firm tofu, crumbled,
- 1 package vegan mozzarella cheese (284 gm size),
- salt and pepper to taste,
- spices (Oregano, Rosemary, white pepper) ,
- 4 or 5 flour tortillas
Mix the tofu, vegan mozzarella, veggie ground round, spices + 1 1/2 cups of the tomato sauce. Lightly grease a 9 inch pan (a quiche dish works well), and lay the first tortilla, spread a generous amount of the mixture to cover the tortilla (about 1/3 cup), then add next tortilla, spread more of the cheese mixture, etc. until you have used up the filling. My last layer was a tortilla, but you could finish up with a cheese layer as well. Spread the final 1/2 cup of tomato sauce over the top. I added a sprig of rosemary for decoration and also drizzled just a bit of olive oil over the top. Pop into a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven and bake, uncovered for approximately 45 minutes until cheese is melted and golden. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6.
