The tofu substitution for cheese resulted in the lasagna not staying together as well as in the regular meat-based version.
Third-year physiological science student Dhithya Ramaswamy’s vegan lasagna recipe replaces meat and cheese with tofu and spinach.
I am vegan … for a week.
This is no short-lived New Year’s resolution but a journalistic immersion into a lifestyle I am writing about for the next issue of prime magazine. I am experiencing life without animal products to get an understanding of what my sources see in this alternative life choice.
And so, from Jan. 1 to Jan. 8, I will have consumed no meat, dairy, eggs or even honey (a bee byproduct). Naturally, my weekly column would use none of these either.
Earlier in the week, I met with third-year physiological science student Dhithya Ramaswamy, who has been vegan her entire life, but not by choice. Ramaswamy is likely allergic to all animal proteins and has never tried meat or dairy, besides a few separate accidents, all of which made her physically ill. Her situation is far from Alicia Silverstone or the stereotype of vegan fanatics who want to save the animals at all costs ““ Ramaswamy is happy, healthy and can find suitable meals just about anywhere.
She sent in a favorite recipe for vegan lasagna, which blew my mind. Meat and cheese is replaced with tofu and spinach and frankly, I was skeptical of its taste. I was equally excited to be proved wrong and brag about my vegan cooking skills to my trendy friends.
A few weeks ago I made a carnivore’s lasagna, sent in by first-year pre-psychology student Gloria Rivera, and alluded to “The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake” by Aimee Bender in my column. The plotline of the novel is that a young girl can taste the feelings of the chef in the food that she eats.
If my meat lasagna tasted like fatigue and emotional exhaustion, my vegan lasagna just tasted like hunger. I attempted the recipe at the exact halfway point of my vegan week, at which I had already consumed more soy and almond protein than my body ever fathomed possible.
I have had amazing vegan meals this week, including in Little Ethiopia and the local Native Foods cafe, both of which left me very satisfied. Unfortunately, my lasagna didn’t.
It’s not that it tasted badly, but the fact that tofu was the substitute for cheese made the concoction unlikely to stay pieced together. The whole wheat noodles (I couldn’t use the no-boil noodles from last time because they were egg-based) tasted good, so did the tomato, garlic and onion mixture, and I liked the tofu. It all blended well too. But for over two hours of effort, all I got was the taste of pasta, which I could have made in about 20 minutes and poured some tomato sauce and tofu on top. The final baking step in making lasagna is designed to bake the cheese, but in this case seemed unnecessary ““ there was nothing to melt.
All of that said, it was still a satisfying dinner after a long day of savoring Odwalla drinks and munching on small packages of nuts. I know that vegans eat well ““ I am not here to argue the value of vegan cooking.
There are plenty of amazing vegan chefs, I’m just not one of them. And the whole wheat pasta was great ““ I just hesitate to call it a lasagna.
If your dairy-free lasagna stays together perfectly, e-mail Krivoruchko at mkrivoruchko@media.ucla.edu. Also send recipes to be featured in next week’s column ““ vegan, vegetarian, carnivore or anything in between.
“Fire in the Kitchen” runs every Thursday.