Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Lasagna Rolls

I have adapted this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis of the Food Network. Find her original recipe here.

Lasagna:
1 15 oz. container whole milk ricotta cheese
1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1 C. plus 2 tbs. grated parmesan
3 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
1 lg. egg, beaten
3/4 tsp. salt plus more for boiling water
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 to 2 tbs. olive oil
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
2 to 3 C. marinara sauce
1 C. shredded mozzarella @ 4 oz.

Whisk the ricotta, chopped spinach, 1 C. parmesan, prosciutto, beaten egg, salt and pepper in bowl to blend.

Add olive oil to large pot of boiling salted water. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to the bite. Drain. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Butter a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish. Pour some of the sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish. Spread about 3 tbs. of the ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle. Sprinkle a little mozzarella on each noodle as well. Starting at one end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching atop the sauce in the dish. Spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the rolls. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and parmesan over the rolls. Cover tightly with foil. Bake at 375 until heated through, about 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 20 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes. Any remaining marinara sauce can be heated and served on the side.

Notes: I do not suggest substituting cottage cheese for the ricotta, gross. Ricotta is much tastier and much more smooth. However, if prosciutto is out of your budget, you can use cubed ham. Just make sure to chop it to smithereens before you add it to the ricotta mixture. As far as the baking time, I generally watch to see the sauce inside get bubbly and then take off the foil for the last 15 - 20 min. Just fyi, the pic is of the assembled rolls, pre-baked.

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