I recently went out to eat with one of my friends and she ordered a dish with tofu. I’d heard of tofu before but hadn’t ever tried it. When our meals came she offered me a taste of her entrée and I thought the tofu was really good. I’m not sure what I expected it to taste like but I was pleasantly surprised.

Tofu is made from soybeans and is a great source of protein and calcium for well, everyone, but it’s eaten a lot by vegetarians (which is what my friend is). Tofu “blends” well with a variety of spices and flavors making it an easy addition to most meals.  Anyway, this friend of mine is coming over to my house next week and I was going to make a vegetarian meal and incorporate tofu. We ate Thai last time so I wanted to switch it up and try something Italian so I chose this recipe:

Tofu Lasagna (from allrecipes.com)

12 ounces uncooked lasagna noodles

12 oz. package firm tofu, crumbled

2 eggs

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup spaghetti sauce

1 tbsp dried parsley

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

3. In a medium bowl combine tofu, eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg, milk, spaghetti sauce, parsley and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Spread a layer in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish.

4. Layer lasagna noodles with the sauce mixture, ending with the sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

5. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes.

(Yields 7 servings.)

324 calories, 14.5 grams of fat, 88 mg of cholesterol

I was told that if you haven’t tried cooking with tofu before this is a good starter recipe. Let me know if you try it and tell me what you think. Since tofu is pretty new to me I’d also appreciate some recipe ideas as well!

0