More Pasta, More Cheese

Last night's "Meatless Monday" meal was yet another variation on the pasta and cheese theme. We're not big on lasgana here, because most lasagna recipes call for ricotta—not a big fave around these parts. But this one uses cottage cheese, and lots of fresh spinach. I doubled the recipe, which made plenty for us for dinner. It's kind of tricky to cook up and drain a whole package of lasagna noodles (mine had 18 sheets), but I ended up with 15 survivors to turn into roll-ups, of which 4 were eaten today as leftovers. I used my big 10-by-15-inch Pyrex baking dish.

Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups

8 lasagna noodles 
2 cups finely chopped baby spinach, from about 3 ounces
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
2/3 cup shredded mozarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper 
1 cup spaghetti sauce

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x9-inch baking dish.

Cook the lasagna noodles in plenty of salted boiling water according to the package directions. Remove when they are al dente and lay out on a clean towel to dry and cool.

In a large bowl, mix the spinach, cottage cheese, half of the shredded cheese, the Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and a generous quantity of black pepper.

Divide the spinach and cheese mixture evenly between the noodles, spreading the mixture over the entire length of each noodle. Roll up the noodles from bottom to top and place in pan, side by side, touching. Pour the tomato sauce over the rolls and sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese over the top.

Bake until heated through and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.

Comments

[Elena]

I want this right now! Is the spinach uncooked when you first mix it with the cheese, etc.?

[Karen]

Yes! I used a 6-ounce bag (since I doubled the recipe) and just buzzed it in batches in the food processor.

[Ebrenner]

I've got a 12 year old licking his lips over this recipe! I wonder if the rolls would fit in his thermos...

[Karen]

I think they will, but be forewarned that they're tricky to eat without a fork and knife. Maybe you could cut it all up and put it in the thermos to be eaten like a "lasagna casserole"?

[Tracy K from CT]

Karen, someone from CT mentioned you had a blog so I popped over -- hope you don't mind, I've thought of you often over the last couple years and it's so great to see you doing so well! Your blog is delightful.

And just to make it relevant, FC has a ragu-based lasagna that doesn't use ricotta at all, it's fantastic... http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/beef-pork-ragu-lasagne.aspx