Mickey As I  am sure you have realized, my initial comment was tongue in cheek . Let me try to explain my reaction.  This note may seem a bit disjointed, but hopefuly not so much. I do not doubt that you have a recipe for lasagna that pleases you and others, and may well be quite good. Actually when I read what you do in your lasagna I wonder why you need the tofu at all. Pecorino Romano, at least that available here, is not very good, and tastes nothing like that in Rome or anywhere else in Italy.  We use imported Parmesan instead.  This is a personal preference, and perhaps not important to this discussion. For me, the issue of whether or not tofu enhances the dish is not the issue.  Both at The Artisan, and in our personal lives we are food purists - some say food snobs.  That is not a bad thing to be when _object_ives are stated to be the preservation of the taste and traditions of Italian foods.  Italians do not use tofu in Italy other than in a Chinese restaurant that may open there (there are now many in the larger cities).  When I even mention your suggestion to Italians born there, their response is the same as mine, i.e., tofu is good, deep fried, with a little soy sauce and a good deal of hot pepper, but in lasagna! No. Seriously, it is hard enough to learn about all of the authentic dishes of any culture with our changing them so radically that they are unrecognizable.  Is it done? Yes.  Successfully? That depends upon your definition of success.  Chinois on Main - a Wolfgang Puck endevour to blend Chinese and French food succeeded wildly for a while.  Now it is passee - at least around here.   Some who read this will think that I/we  are against new foods, or creativity.  That is hardly the case.  In our opinion all foods are derivative.  None of us invent an entirely new genre of foods.  We learn, we experiment, and we push forward the frontiers of food. Look at the history of Pizza: from a dry, hard, flat crust carried by Roman soldiers, to the dish we know today. It took about 1800 years to evolve, but it eventually did. I believe that changing foods is best done in a context of one culture or another.  I do not suggest that Italian food, for example, is better, per se, than all other food, only that it is better for us. I am sure that others whose roots are firmly _embed_ded in other cultures feel as strongly about their heritage as I do about mine. Admittedly, we are a bit over the edge about this because except for an occasional foray into Moroccan cuisine, we never cook anything else but Italian food.  Furthermore when feeling like a new Italian dish,  we try to look up recipes that are found in the Italian literature, in our family, our cookbooks, or sent to us by friends. Obviously we too try to develop new ways of using ingredients, and modifying recipes or ideas, our own as well as those found in the literature. All cooks/chefs so that. Most all of the food recipes on The Artisan are mine. They are derived from 35 years of cooking.  Are they all so unique that no one has ever made anything like them before,  I doubt it. As a cook and teacher specializing in Italian food, I find that there are so many dishes made in Italy that I have not had, that adding non-Italian ingredients to a dish to change it is unnecessary. To wit: One Italian language book we have offers 20 different lasagna or lagane (southern Italy) recipes ranging from the standard Bolognese recipe to lasagna made with dried figs (admitedly a bit strange sounding).  I imagine that after making all, or many, of these, studying how and why they work or do not work, I might be tempted to add a 21st, 22nd, or 23rd if I could imagine them. What's my point?  It is that there is so much to draw upon in the literature and culture of Italy, that changing a dish is more often than not finding another recipe from another region, making it, and then developing your own version of it if desired - all within the context of Italian ingredients. Well I am not sure if I clarified anything or simply succeeded in obfuscating things.  If the latter that was not my intention. BTW, I have made tofu mayonnaise at the suggestion of a friend who said it was smooth and delicioius.  It was smooth. Regards Jerry @ The Artisan

happily together on my shelves just waiting to dazzle some eager tastebuds in new ways.  The tofu/ricotta lasagna compromises nothing and offers a slightly less caloric version of a wonderful dish. Mickey (a.k.a. Michelina) (1st generation American - 100% Italian heritage) You go, girl! Damsel, who uses <gasp! cottage cheese in her lasagna

... I have made tofu mayonnaise at the suggestion of a friend who said it was smooth and delicioius.  It was smooth. Regards Jerry @ The Artisan Jerry, I enjoy your understated Italian humor (and your recipes). I'm sure everyone understands your reaction; some of us _object_ed to the way you expressed it. If instead of How could you do that!!! , you had written, I could never bring myself to do that , I would not have felt impelled to defend Mickey. (The had escaped me.) As for tofu, I keep finding new uses as I cut back on my meat consumption. Some are very good, some I won't repeat, and most lead to the thought that meat tastes better. But then, so did youth. Jerry

Damsel, who uses <gasp! cottage cheese in her lasagna Yiddish Lasagna? Well, why not! Try cottage cheese with egg noodles, topped with cinnamon sugar. Jerry