Lasagna Rolls

Making traditional lasagna can be very time consuming but making these lasagna rolls are super easy.  A traditional lasagna is made by interleaving layers of pasta with layers of sauce, meat and cheese.  I prefer making lasagna rolls because it is easier to serve compare to the traditional layered lasagna.  You can serve the lasagna rolls without cutting and just serve one, two or three rolls with a breeze.  Hope you will start making lasagna rolls instead of the traditional lasagna.

Ingredients:

Béchamel Sauce:

2 Tbsp unsalted butter
4 Tsp all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups whole milk (you can also use low fat milk)
1/4 Tsp salt
1/8 Tsp ground black pepper
Pinch of nutmeg

Lasagna:
1 (15 oz) whole milk ricotta cheese
1 (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach (thawed and squeezed dry)
8 oz Italian sausage (you can use mild or spicy)
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan
1 large egg beaten
3/4 Tsp salt, plus more for salting water
1/2 Tsp ground black pepper
1 to 2 Tbsp olive oil
12 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 jar of Traditional pasta sauce (You can use any marinara sauce.  I used Ragu)
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:

Butter a 13 x 9 x 2 inch glass baking dish and set aside.

Brown the Italian sausage in a pan and breaking it apart as you go.  Once it is browned, let it cool.

To make the béchamel sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it is foamy.  Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes.  Whisk in the milk and increase the heat to medium-high.  Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes.  Whisk in the salt, pepper and nutmeg into the béchamel sauce.

Pour the béchamel sauce over the bottom of the buttered baking dish. 

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Mixed the ricotta cheese, spinach, Italian sausage, 1 cup Parmesan, egg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.  Make sure it is well mixed.

Add a tablespoon or 2 of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water.  Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to the bite, or they call it al dente.  Drain and arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.

Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on  a work surface, then spread a large spoonful of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle.  Starting at one end, roll each noodle to the other end.  Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down on the béchamel sauce.  Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture.  Spoon the jar of sauce or marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls.  Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes.  Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer.  Let stand for 10 minutes and serve.