5. Lebanon
If you like spicy and rich that evokes, funnily enough, Morocco, this is the version you’d want to try. For the bechamel sauce with Parmesan, a Lebanese twist is to use yogurt, tahini and feta or even sour cream, with vegetables safely used instead of meat if you prefer. The vegetable of choice is often mushrooms. As mushrooms absorb flavor but also reduce the intensity of flavor, it allows you to play with really piquant sauce substitutes such as the sour-cream infused bechamel version. Tahini is otherwise known as ardeh, and is made from toasted sesame seeds. It is what gives Middle Eastern dishes such as this one their distinctively smokey, rich undertones, along with the zestiness of coriander or cilantro in the sauce.
As for the veggies, you could also opt to use a combination of aubergine, courgettes, red peppers, red onion and tomato, all in chunks, not pureed. This is your meat substitute if you wish, not your sauce. To stick with the meat version, lamb or ground beef is best with the aromatics such as sour cream, tahini and cilantro in Lebanese cooking. For the cheese, use feta not mozzarella with your Parmesan.