Spinach Lasagna Roll Ups

Ingredients:

sauce:
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small carrot, minced
1 medium onion, diced
28 oz canned whole tomatoes, hand crushed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 teaspoon sugar

filling:

2 eggs
1 shallot, minced
1/2 lb ricotta cheese
1/2 chopped spinach
2/3 cup mozzarella, cubed
2/3 cup Parmesan, grated
2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, grated


1 lb lasagna noodle cooked until almost al dente and then cooled.



Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

To make the sauce: In a large saucepan, saute onion, garlic and carrot in olive oil until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add wine and cook until reduced. Add tomatoes, basil and sugar plus salt and pepper to taste and cook 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, eggs, shallot, nutmeg, mozzarella and salt and pepper to taste, thoroughly.


Ladle 3/4 cup of sauce along the bottom of
Lay out lasagna noodles on a towel, blotting to dry. Spread noodles with 2 tablespoons filling end to end. Roll up. Place in pan on sauce with the open ends to the side. Repeat until no noodles remain or the pan has one complete layer with little gaping. Ladle remaining sauce over the top, sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake covered in foil for 20 minutes, then remove cover and bake an additional 10-15 or until steamy hot and bubbly. Serve immediately.

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My thoughts:

This is one of our favorite dishes we've developed recently. While I am not entirely convinced that lasagna roll ups are necessarily any faster to make than a traditional layered lasagna, they are much easier to serve. The rolls stay together really nicely without the slippery layers of sauce and the density of traditional lasagna while still allowing for a mingling of tomato, spinach and cheese. In fact, my husband says he actually likes this recipe better than traditional lasagna. Not bad for a sudden whim.