I am the daughter of a cattle farmer and I spent most of my summers when I was a child on the family farm. Country music was always playing and I was obsessed with Garth Brooks. Think of an eight year old little girl singing at the top of her lungs that she's got friends in low places or asking you if you want to be a part of the American Honky Tonk Bar Association. Yup. Good times.
Well, a couple months ago, I was watching the Food Network and noticed that Trisha Yearwood (also a country singer) was having her husband Garth Brooks as a special guest on her show about southern cooking. To my surprise they were going to make a popular dish in their household and it included tofu. Who saw that coming?! I sure didn't.
Trisha (I like to think we are on a first name basis) explained that her family is trying to eat healthier and so they tweaked some of their favourite dishes like her black bean lasagna. She found a way to cut out the amount of cheese they use by substituting the ricotta cheese you would usually use with tofu between the layers of pasta. It's Garth's favourite dish that she makes. My eight-year-old self is jumping around with glee.
I have made this dish a few times already and have made some further changes. The first time I made it, I followed the recipe and found that it was very good, but dry. I wish there was more tomato sauce and that the layers of 'ricotta cheese' was more creamy. The second time I made it, I tried reducing the amount of tomato paste and added some coconut cream to get the textures that I felt this recipe was lacking. I think I succeeded. It's now a new favourite!
Black Bean and Tofu Lasagna
as found of Food Networks website here
Ingredients for tomato sauce:
- 2- 15 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
- 28 oz can of diced tomato (we blend it)
- 5.5 oz can of tomato paste
- 1 tbsp of dried oregano leaves
- 2 tsp of salt
- 1/2 tsp of black pepper
- 1/4 tsp of garlic powder
- 1 small onion finely chopped
Ingredients for tofu ricotta:
- 1/2 cup of coconut cream
- 14 oz of extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed
- 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast
- 3 tbsp of olive oil
- 2 tbsp of fresh basil or 1 tbsp of dried basil
- salt and pepper
Left over ingredients:
- Lasagna noodles (I use brown rice noodles)
- 1 cup of your favourite shredded cheese
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large saucepan, combine the tomatoes and their juices, tomato paste, garlic powder, salt, pepper, oregano, onions and black beans. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook to al dente according to package directions. Drain the noodles well.
Spread 1 cup of the prepared sauce in a 9- by 13- by 2-inch baking pan. Make three layers each of noodles, sauce and Tofu Ricotta. End with the sauce and make sure the noodles are completely covered or they will dry out during baking. Top with shredded cheese. Bake for 45 minutes, uncovered. If you find that the cheese hasn't browned, I use the ovens broil option for a couple minutes until the cheese browns. Allow the dish to stand for 15 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.
Tofu Ricotta:
Crumble the tofu in a food processor and add the yeast, coconut cream, olive oil and basil. Season with salt and pepper. The food processor will blend it all together and you should have a creamy texture.
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