Parmesan Substitute in Winter Greens Lasagne

[Muchlove]

Recently I was flicking through Chow and noticed a winter greens lasagne that I bet my Mum would love to make around Christmas as a rich and tasty winter treat. The thing is, it calls for parmesan cheese and my Mum is vegetarian. (I did actually leave a comment on the recipe...but then I realised it would make more sense to ask on the boards)

There are vegetarian "Italian style" hard cheeses available but they do tend to be a bit pricey and are also sometimes quite hard to find. I was wondering if anyone had a particular recommendation for a cheese that would work well in this recipe. Obviously there are tonnes of cheeses that she could just chuck in and see how it turns out but I was hoping that someone with good "cheese knowledge" would be able to give a specific recommendation. As something to consider, please note that my Mum lives in the UK so it needs to be a cheese that is available there!

A link to the recipe is here: http://www.chow.com/recipes/11415-win...

Oh, and before someone says it, I know that some vegetarians do eat cheese made with animal rennet. That's fine and I'm happy for them, but the veggies in my family don't. I don't want to get into a big pointless debate about it, I just want to help my Mum find something delicious to make and eat over Christmas!

[Emme]

Is Gruyere, Jarlsberg or Emmantalier avail? One of those would be my pick!

[Muchlove]

Should be available. I was more worried about being advised particular brands, that's why I pointed out my Mum was in the UK.

Thanks for all the recs guys.

[bear]

I like hotoynoodle's suggestion of feta, and I don't think it would make it too spanakopita-like. Feta goes really well with all kinds of greens.

[Muchlove]

I don't think anyone would mind if it was spanakopita-like anyway ;) Just wondered if it might be easy to make over-salty. Feta is definitely the lead idea at the moment anyway, although I'm thinking that a bit of cheddar would be better for the topping (some of the parmesan goes in the dish, some on top) as that would melt better.

[bear]

I'm probably not the best judge of the saltiness of the dish since I tend to have a heavy hand with the salt, but I think it would be fine as long as your mom goes easy on the salt in the greens.

[Muchlove]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I'm going to pass them on.

I sort of thought I'd get a bit more response ("I love x cheese with kale", "A good sharp cheese to cut the creaminess is y") but nevermind. Seems the recipe is flexible and forgiving so that's good.

[todao]

Give some thought to Mizithra. You can brown it in butter for a nuttier flavor. It's wonderful stuff. If that doesn't do it for you, I have no other recommendations.

[Muchlove]

I've not heard of this cheese but the butter thing sounds good! And it really isn't a case of what "does it" for me. I'm just going to pass suggestions.

[ratgirlagogo]

This recipe became a big favorite of mine since they first posted it a couple of years ago. One of the things I like about it is how versatile it is - it will survive substitutions extremely well. For example the last time I made it, a couple of weeks ago, I discovered at assembly time that my ricotta was moldy and unuseable. So I used Monterrey jack and fontina along with the creme fraiche. And while the texture was obviously very different, it was still delicious and still great. I would experiment a little and go for it - it's been a huge Thanksgiving hit for me.

[Muchlove]

Good to hear, I definitely think the recipe Is going to go down well.

[hotoynoodle]

i am unsure what the issue is here, whether it's cheese altogether, or simply the rennet?

i did a google search for rennet free cheese and came up with a long list, but all the dairies are in my home-land of the u.s.

there is an umami quality from parmesan that can also be found in soy sauce, but that's traveling down a whole different avenue as far as flavor.

my brief foray into vegetarian/soy cheeses was highly unsatisfactory. the melt texture and temp is totally different as is the mouthfeel and flavor.

good luck.

[Muchlove]

There's plenty of vegetarian (animal rennet free that is, I'm not talking about dairy free) cheese in the UK. But proper traditional parmigiano reggiano is never vegetarian. Hence the question.

As I mentioned there a cheeses very similar to parmesan but made with non-animal rennet. The problem is, where my Mum lives she has only seen them intermittantly in fancy whole food shops and they are also pricey. I was wondering therefore if someone who knew more about cheese could say if there was another cheese that would work well in the recipe. As mentioned, she could just throw in any cheese she had around, such as cheddar for instance. But I thought that it would be good to ask for things that would work well specifically with these ingredients.

[hotoynoodle]

this is a southern italian way to finish dishes.

Poor Man’s Parmesan (Toasted Bread Crumbs)
makes 1/2 cup

2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup bread crumbs*
Several tablespoons finely chopped parsley (or try other herbs like thyme, oregano, etc.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

saute til crumbs are golden

for dairy-free:

baker's yeast, breadcrumbs, garlic powder, and salt sauteed a few minutes

you could also add finely chopped olives.

obviously cheddar is a totally different flavor, but romano, provolone, even feta, might work. otherwise, i'm sorry, but you'll need to do a u.k. specific search for available rennet-free dairy since we live in different countries.

[Muchlove]

As I said, there is plenty of rennet free cheese available in the UK and I am not looking for a non-dairy substitute. I'm literally just looking for recommendations of other cheeses that would be nice in this dish. It's already a pretty dairy heavy recipe so I think perhaps the cheese needs to be sharper and less creamy. Cheddar, even good mature English cheddar might just make it all too creamy and cloying. I don't know, not being a cheese expert I turn to knowledgeable Chowhounds for help!

[ElenaRose]

I understand you are looking for a substitute cheese, which I can't help you with, but you can look for kosher parmesan. If it's kosher it will definitely not have animal rennet and it's not so expensive. If you are around London it should be easy to find in a kosher market. Probably Manchester too, not sure where else.

[Muchlove]

Sadly I am not in the country at all, so I cannot even help her much! I'm just trying to find some nice vegetarian dishes she can cook over the holiday because I know she likes doing that. My Mum lives near Bristol. As I said, ys vegetarian "parmesan" is available here and there. But since procuring it can be a PITA and it's not cheap either, I thought I'd go for a different approach with a completely different cheese. BTW I though kosher cheese could use animal rennet because it was a very very small amount?

hotoynoddle's suggestiong of feta has got me thinking. That would make the dish very vaguely spanakopita-ish. Could it easily end up way to salty though?

[GilaB]

It's a common misconception that kosher cheese can't contain animal rennet, but it's not actually so. To quote from an article by R. Avraham Gordimer, who is the lead kosher supervisor for cheeses in the US for the OU, the largest kosher-certifying agency in the world:

"Animal rennet and lipase can be kosher, however. If the kosher source animal is slaughtered, de-veined, salted and processed according to kosher law, its rennet and lipase are fine for kosher use. (There is no halachic problem with using animal-derived enzymes in cheese [mixing meat and milk] since the amounts used are miniscule. Moreover, the enzymes are not cooked with the milk, and they are flavorless. Also, the davar hama’amid principle cited earlier only applies to non-kosher substances, and the enzymes are actually kosher.)"

The full article is here: http://www.kashrut.com/articles/cheese/

[hotoynoodle]

i offered 3 above and will add ricotta salata to that list. whether you can source any of these as rennet free, i have no idea.

[Muchlove]

The recipe already contains ricotta but I am looking at your other suggestions.

[Caitlin McGrath]

The recipe includes fresh ricotta, and hotoynoodle is suggesting ricotta salata, which is a dry cheese that can be grated or crumbled, and is not fresh ricotta. It is not as hard as parmesan, or as salty, but is a good, savory choice that would work well, and is probably available made with vegetable rennet.

[Muchlove]

Thanks for clarifying this! Now you see why I ask for cheese advice!