Vegetable Lasagna Rolls

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small zucchini, finely diced
1 small yellow squash, finely diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
15 ounces whole milk ricotta
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 large egg, beaten
3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped

Tomato Sauce
28 ounces canned whole peeled tomatoes (I prefer San Marzano)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Lasagna Rolls
1 pound lasagna noodles, cooked according to package instructions and drained
1½ cups mozzarella cheese, grated
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

For the Filling:

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the zucchini, yellow squash, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until the squash softens but is not mushy, about 4 minutes. Pour the mixture into a medium bowl and let cool.

Add the ricotta, Parmesan, egg, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to the cooled vegetables. Stir to combine.

For the Tomato Sauce:

In a food processor, pulse the tomatoes with their juices until they are coarsely ground or chop the tomatoes by hand. Transfer them to a bowl, add the salt and pepper, then stir in the basil.

For the Lasagna Rolls:

Preheat the oven to 375°. Grease a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish.

Spread about 1 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking dish.

To create the rolls, spread each lasagna noodle with a layer of the ricotta mixture. Starting at one end, roll up the noodle. Repeat with the remaining lasagna noodles and ricotta mixture.

I like to set up an assembly line by spreading out all of the noodles on a sheet pan so I can do this quickly. Another tip to make it faster and less messy is to put the ricotta mixture in a large resealable plastic bag. Snip a large hole out of one corner of the bag with scissors and use the bag to pipe the mixture onto each noodle.

Place each lasagna roll, seam-side down, into the baking dish.

Spread the remaining sauce over the lasagna rolls. Top with the mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Today Show

Those look delicious. My son is a huge lasagna guy; might have to whip some of these up for him, he’d love it.