This is our take on a classic Italian comfort dish. Rolling the lasagna noodles helps to create distinct portions and enables you to create different flavor profiles within one meal. We have used a spinach ricotta filling along with a Sausage and ricotta filling. Pick one, try, both, or feel free to get creative!
Serves 4
For Sautéed Spinach
8 oz baby spinach
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 Tbls olive oil
sprinkle of salt
For the Tomato Sauce
1 Tbls olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
For the Filling
1 egg, slightly beaten
16 oz ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 lb Italian sausage
8 lasagna noodles
1 1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan, grated
1. In a medium sauté pan, on low heat sauté oil and garlic for a minute and then add spinach and stir. Cover with a lid and cook until spinach wilts, about 4 or 5 minutes. Place in strainer and let drain. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible from spinach and then place in medium bowl.
2. Wipe out pan and place over medium heat. Drizzle in garlic oil and add minced garlic and sauté for one minute. Add crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt and pepper and mix. Once sauce comes to a simmer, cover, reduce heat and continue cooking for 20 minutes stirring every five minutes or so.
3. In a medium bowl, lightly beat an egg. Add the ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper. Set aside.
4. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling add lasagna noodles and cook until al dente, two minutes short of package directions. Once ready, drain and lay flat on an oiled sheet pan to cool so you can add handle them.
5. In a small skillet, brown Italian sausage, drain off fat and place in a medium bowl.
6. Divide ricotta mixture in half. Add half to the bowl of spinach and the other half to the bowl of Italian sausage.
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a 11 x 7 pan, cover the bottom with the marinara sauce. To build the lasagna rolls, while the noodles are laid out on the sheet pan, spoon the sausage ricotta mixture on half of the noodles and the spinach ricotta mixture on the other half. Roll up and place in pan on top of the tomato sauce seam side down. Then spoon the rest of the tomato sauce on top of the rolls. Sprinkle with mozzarella and the Parmesan. Bake for 25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and gooey.
We chose to make the sautéed spinach and marinara sauce from scratch, but of course you can choose to use frozen spinach and/ or a jarred marinara and it will taste delicious that way as well!
Marisa:
We wanted a comfort food this week since the weather was cold and dreary, so what better dish to make you feel warm and cozy than lasagna. Lasagna is a dish we both love so we thought it would be appropriate to put our own spin on it. I often over serve myself when is comes to this cheesy and meaty dish, ( I mean how could you not?) so we decided to make rolls with each noodle to help with portion control. Also, this way we could have the best of both worlds, one spinach roll and one sausage!
One thing I love about this recipe is that it would be very easy to make parts or all of it ahead of time. The sausage could be browned ahead and frozen or left in the fridge, the spinach and garlic wilted, the ricotta and mozzarella mix made, you could even assemble the whole thing then leave it overnight before baking. This is truly a delicious and satisfying meal that can come together on your terms, when and however you want it.
