Mmmmm pasta…. and pesto. Two things I have been craving lately. I know, weird, right? It’s practically summer and I should be thinking about light and fresh vegetables but whatever. The heart, errr I mean stomach, wants what it wants.
I did though incorporate a lot of vegetables into this lasagna. Mainly because my guys friends that came over are total health nuts. No, but really, they are. I thought about making this dish vegan for a hot second but just couldn’t bring myself to make lasagna without cheese. I’m just not there yet. But vegans and vegetarians alike feel free to post your substitutions, I’m always looking for something different!
I did add some super healthy and of course spicy kale pesto! Really added some flavor to this dish.
You’ll need:
10 Lasagna Noodles
1/2 of a small Eggplant
1 cup of diced Cremini or Baby Portobello Mushrooms (they are the same thing!)
1/2 a large White onion
1 large can of Tomato Sauce
1/2 a bushel of Kale
6 cloves Garlic
6 tablespoons of Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
1 small Lemon
1/2 a Jalapeno
Couple splashes of week-old red wine
1 cup of Ricotta cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Romano or Parmesan cheese to top
First, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Then boil the lasagna noodles. Even if you buy no boil noodles, still need to boil them so they are soft enough to roll.
Only need to boil the noodles for 3-4 minutes. Drain the water and separate the noodles. If you don’t they will stick together and tear! Set these aside.
Now onto the kale pesto! I made this just like I made all my other pestos, except I used kale. Wash and remove the stalks from the kale. This post shows you how to remove the stalks of the kale.
In a food processor, combine chopped kale, garlic, lemon juice, jalapeno, olive oil and kosher salt until fully incorporated and smooth. Set aside.
Dice up the onion.
Wash and dice up the cremini mushrooms.
Now onto the eggplant!
Slice the eggplant then proceed to dice it up.
Combine the onion, mushrooms and eggplant into a large skillet. Drizzle with olive oil and begin to saute.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of week old red wine or red wine vinegar. Stir that until absorbed.
After about 10 minutes, add a cup of ricotta. Turn off the heat and mix that up!
Remember those noodles? Now its time for the fun part!
Spoon the vegetables and ricotta over the noodles.
Top a little kale pesto over that. Not too much! It gets spicy with that jalapeno.
Roll that up!
Ta Da! Haha get it? It’s lasagna but all rolled up? Lasagna Rollatini!
Place the lasagna rolls into a baking pan sprayed with non-stick spray.
Smother those with tomato sauce.
Top with some mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees or until cheese is nice and bubbly!
So delish!
Cheesy… yum! Cranch better watch out, you’ve got hand model competition!
Your guests will be shocking surprised by how delicious their plates look!
I served this vegetable lasagna rollatini with roasted asparagus.
Dig in and enjoy!
What are your favorite lasagna substitutions?
Can’t wait to try this one! We really like kale. Thanks Natalie. Love you!
Thanks Aunt Teri! Let me know how it turns out. Love you too!
This was the best from my family who is use to eating meat….they did not miss it.
I on the other hand have been filtering out beef for over 5 years so, recipes like this are very satisfying.
Thank you for publishing : )
Im so glad your family enjoyed this Pat!