More and more people are trying to cut back on meat these days. There are many good reasons to do so, two of the main reasons being to protect the environment and to improve health. The trick when it comes to adapting to this new lifestyle is to make sustainable changes. To make eating less meat appealing for the long-term, it’s important to find plant-based meals that you really enjoy. To help you do just that, we’ve put together three different veggie spins on one of the best-loved meat dishes out there: lasagna. If you’re looking to create delicious meals and improve your health, vegetable lasagna is the way to go. Learn how to make vegetable lasagna that tastes just as good as the original.
Making fresh pasta for a vegetarian lasagna recipe
When it comes to delicious meatless lasagna, it’s always worth making fresh pasta. And this doesn’t have to be as time-consuming as it sounds. There are some modern kitchen solutions that make the process incredibly simple, such as the Philips Pasta and Noodle Maker, which is equipped with a special shaping disc to make perfectly even homemade lasagna sheets in as little as 10 minutes.
For inspiration on how to use your pasta maker for your vegetarian lasagna recipe, check the recipe for spinach lasagna sheets.
With a machine:
1. Having rested your dough, divide it into three equal portions. Keep two portions covered with a towel while you flatten one portion of dough into a rough rectangle.
2. Remember to flour your dough before passing it through the widest setting of the pasta machine.
3. Once extruded, reform your dough back into a rough rectangle before flouring once more, folding in half and passing through the machine again.
4. Repeat this process until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky.
Tip: Always have extra flour close at hand so that you can liberally dust your lasagna sheets passing them through the machine. Remember to fold the dough in half each time.
5. Now change the pasta machine to the middle setting or manually reduce the space between the rollers, before once again passing your dough through the machine. This time, you don’t need to fold the dough after extrusion.
6. Repeat this step for all three portions of dough and then move to the thinnest setting on the machine or until your pasta sheets are roughly 3 inches wide and 1mm thick.
With a rolling pin:
1. Divide your dough into three equal portions. Take one portion and roughly roll it flat before rotating it a quarter of the way around and rolling it out once again. Repeat this process to achieve an even thickness.
2. Cut your pasta into sheets to fit the size and shape of your lasagna dish.
Tip: Whether you’re using a rolling pin or a pasta machine, leave your lasagna sheets to air-dry on a floured cloth for around half an hour.
Now you’re ready for the filling!
Meatless lasagna sides
Want to eat a more balanced, healthy diet? If you’re looking for plant-based sides to go with your veggie lasagna, consider cooking something with a different texture to add some variety to your dish. Crispy vegetables are ideal, but to ensure they remain crunchy and free of excess fat, use an air fryer such as Philips Airfryer XXL that creates a crisp texture without requiring too much fat. It’s the only air fryer with fat reducing technology that removes and captures excess fat. Don’t know where to start?
