This was adapted from a recipe of Giada's on the food network. I never actually looked at her recipe, I just watched her make it, but the only thing it really has in common with mine is that there's spinach inside and it's rolled in little jelly rolls. Mine is a much healthier, guilt free version. In my opinion, food tastes better when you don't feel bad about eating it.
Lasagna Rolls
1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles (I like the ones with the curled edges because they look really pretty when you roll them.
1 10 oz. box frozen spinach, defrosted
1 15 oz. container low fat ricotta cheese
1 12.3 oz. box extra firm silken tofu, pureed (oh, don't turn your nose up, you can't even taste it!)
2 cups low fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 egg
2 green onions, chopped (see my previous posts to grow your own like I do!!!)
1/4 cup fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste
Full recipe of cream sauce (below)
2 cups marinara sauce (you can use store bought if you must but it's super easy to make your own with the recipe below!!)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover the bottom of a large glass baking dish with the cream sauce. Boil the noodles until they are just barely underdone. I cook them for a minute under what the package says. Drain the water out of the spinach. I put it in a clean dish towel and wring it out, then break it up a little. Combine the ricotta, tofu, spinach, egg, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup parmesan, green onions, basil and salt and pepper in a mixing bowl. Lay the noodles out on a cutting board and spread each one with 2 tbsp of the ricotta mixture. Roll each one up like a jelly roll and place them in the baking dish. Top each roll with a little marinara, a little mozzarella, and a little parmesan. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes until the cheese barely begins to brown. Now this is the most important step, but it's the hardest... You have to let it sit for at least 10 minutes before you eat it so everything can set together. Patience is a virtue, my friend. After 10 excruciating minutes, you can dig in.
This recipe easily doubles or triples for parties, and leftovers freeze well (not that there are ever leftovers). I'm not just saying this because it's my recipe, but it's the best lasagna I've ever had. Some lasagna comes out bland or too salty or mushy, but this is perfect. Plus, the little rolls make portion control easier. I've had a few people tell me it's better than their mom's or grandma's which really makes me happy because everyone thinks their mom cooks the best.
For the cream sauce:
4 tbsp whole wheat flour
3 tbsp oil, butter, or butter substitute (I used Earth Balance)
2 cups almond milk (I used to use regular milk which works fine, but I never have it on hand, and I don't feel like buying it and having it go to waste just for this. Plus the almond milk adds a nutty complexity to the sauce)
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
Melt the butter, or heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 3 minutes. Add the milk and whisk until everything is well combined. Turn the heat down to low and cook for about 10 minutes until it's thickened up. Add the nutmeg and salt and pepper, and all finished!!
For the marinara sauce:
60 oz. each diced tomatoes and tomato puree (it doesn't have to be exactly 60, just whatever you can get close to with the size you are buying)*
1 large onion, diced
1 large bell pepper, diced (I buy the tricolor peppers already sliced and frozen so I don't waste them, so I ended up using about a cup of those)
1 1/2 cups diced mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano**
1 tsp dried parsley**
1 tsp dried basil**
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup dried basil
2 tbsp fresh parsley
Start off by heating the oil in a pan. Add the onions and peppers and cook over high heat until the onions are translucent. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook until the mushrooms have released most of their water. Add 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper and cook for an additional 2 minutes. If you are going to add meat, at this point, you would brown 1 lb. of ground meat and add it to the veggies to cook through.
Meanwhile, Add the tomatoes and the dried herbs and remaining salt and pepper to a crockpot. You can use a large pot too, but this is so easy and you don't have to worry too much about stirring it. It practically cooks itself. Add the sauteed veggies to the tomatoes and cook for at least 4 hours over low heat. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes so up to 8 hours on low heat is great. About 30 minutes before it's done, stir in the fresh herbs.
This makes a ton of sauce, which I love to keep on hand for all kinds of stuff. You can use it as pizza sauce, over pasta, over spaghetti squash, for eggplant parmesan, the possibilities are endless. Just freeze it in small containers so you don't have to defrost the whole thing every time. When my brother was younger and we lived together, he was really picky about eating veggies so this was a great way to sneak them in. You can chop up spinach, zucchini, eggplant, pretty much anything and sautee it with the rest of the veggies and they'll never know. I also did that when I made him meatballs, and he said they were the best meatballs he's ever had. Little did he know, they were 75% veggies with a little ground turkey to bind them. Muahahaha. I also used to stir in a can of pureed pumpkin to the sauce when I made it in the winter, and it was so good!! It made it really rich and creamy. Just make sure you don't buy pumpkin pie filling, that could be gross. For lunch today I had zucchini with marinara. Yum!!
*If you can, buy the tomatoes in jars rather than cans (or make your own). The acidity of the tomatoes reacts with the lining of the can to create a nasty chemical called BPA that you do not want in your food.
**I would normally suggest fresh herbs, but dried herbs have a different flavor than fresh, and, in this, they have a really rustic earthy flavor that reminds me of when my mom and dad make spaghetti. The fresh ones at the end add a brightness to the sauce.
We had a little girls night tonight so I served my lasagna with salad, sauteed zucchini, foccacia bread and angel food cake with strawberries, chocolate, and ice cream!!!
Nomnomnom
The chocolate sauce was super easy. Just melt a cup of chocolate chips and 3 tbsp of coconut milk. So good!!
I hope you enjoy the gift I have given you today. And thank you all so much for reading! I really appreciate it!! :)
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