I had a request to create a meal using spinach. It did take me a minute to decide what recipe I wanted to share. I fell in love with this dish because it is first vegetarian, healthy and delicious. The tomato sauce is fragrant with basil, and oregano. The Lasagna rolls are filled with ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, seasoned spinach, rolled up and nestled in a rich tomato sauce. It is topped with mozzarella and parmesan cheese and baked to perfection. A slice of French garlic toast to finish off the dish. Explosions of umami flavor from the fork to the excited tastebuds in your mouth.
In this recipe I used store brought spaghetti sauce, and added dried herbs to enhance the flavor. Only half of the jar is needed or about a cup of sauce is used to nestle the spinach rolls in for flavor and the pasta don't stick to the bottom of the pan. Fresh is always best, but dried herbs can enhance the flavor to any dish as well.
Popeye the sailor man ate spinach so it must be healthy, right? Spinach is rich in several minerals that the body needs, including potassium. Potassium helps lower your blood pressure when you consume foods high in potassium. Spinach is also an excellent source of iron, which helps your body make hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is needed to help transport oxygen from the lungs to the rest of your body. Spinach also has vitamin A which helps support the skin's immune system and helps the skin stay hydrated. When the skin is hydrated it reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. So Popeye was on the right track.
Did You Know
Spinach has it's own day which is March 26th, National Spinach Day. Spinach was also popular with Medieval artists. They extracted green pigment from it to use as green ink or paint. Who knew? Now we know. Spinach is not just healthy, it was used to create beautiful art.
Ingredients Spinach Ricotta Lasagna Rolls
6 Lasagna Noodles
1 lb. Spinach (fresh or frozen)
1 cup Ricotta cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
2 eggs
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
Let's Cook!
Preheat the oven to 350°F
In a mixing bowl add the cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, eggs, a teaspoon of dried parsley, garlic powder, kosher salt, and black pepper.
Blend until all the ingredients come together.
Add in 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese. Stir the cheese into the mixture and set it aside.
Over medium heat pour in 1 cup of jarred spaghetti sauce or you can create your on marinara sauce.
Combine parsley, garlic powder, basil, onion powder, and oregano. Stir until it is blended well.
Allow the sauce to simmer for 20 minutes over low heat.
Pour the sauce in a loaf pan to coat the bottom of the pan.
Cook the lasagna noodles according to the instructions on the box. Lay them out on parchment paper on a cookie sheet
Spread the spinach ricotta mixture on each lasagna noodle and roll them up like a pinwheel.
Place each pinwheel in the loaf pan and top with parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
Place a sheet of parchment paper on top so the cheese do not stick to the foil.
Cover the loaf pan with foil. Place the loaf pan on a cookie sheet. Place in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
Remove the foil when the cheese is melted and bubbling
Bon Appetit, ENJOY!
Commentaires