Lasagna Rolls

Good afternoon bloggers! I welcome you with open arms and an empty stomach. Today, we are taking a normal dinner and putting a fun twist on it. Everyone is aware of what lasagna is. I don't feel it necessary to explain about such a classic dish. Well, today we are rolling up our sleeves as well as our pasta! We will be adding a wonderful bechamel sauce to pour over our lasagna rolls, as well as utilizing prosciutto in our dish. Now, I AM going to explain what a bechamel sauce is. Bechamel is known as a white sauce. It's one of the main sauces in French cuisine and is also used in many Italian recipes as well, like lasagna. The sauce is supposedly named after the "marquis de Bechamel", Louis de Bechameil, marquis de Nointel. The sauce was "an improvement upon a similiar, earlier sauce, known as veloute". Bechemel is also the base for a numerous amount of other classic sauces such as Cheedar cheese sauce, Soubise sauce, Creme sauce, Mustard sauce, Mornay sauce, and Nantua sauce. Wow! That's a lot of sauces! Now that you are aware of one of our key ingredients, I will meet everyone back in the kitchen so we can get started on our dish. Meet you there!

Lasagna Rolls

You will need:





For the Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1.25 cups whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Pinch ground nutmeg

For the Lasagna:

• 1 container whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 3 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, chopped
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for salting water
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 12 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella

Ready?

1. To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
2. Add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes.
3. Whisk in the milk and increase the heat to medium-high.
4. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes.
5. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the bechamel sauce.
6. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
7. Whisk the ricotta, spinach, 1 cup Parmesan, prosciutto, egg, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl to blend. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a large pot of boiling salted water.
8. Boil the noodles until just tender but still firm to bite, then drain.
9. Arrange the noodles in a single layer on a baking sheet to prevent them from sticking.
10. Butter a 13x9x2 inch glass baking dish.
11. Pour the bechamel sauce over the bottom of the prepared dish.
12. Lay out 4 lasagna noodles on a work surface, then spread 3 tablespoons of ricotta mixture evenly over each noodle.
13. Starting at one end, roll each noodle like a jelly roll.
14. Lay the lasagna rolls seam side down, without touching, atop the bechamel sauce in the dish.
15. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture.
16. Spoon 1 cup of marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls.
17. Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan over the lasagna rolls.
18. Cover tightly with foil.
19. Bake until heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes.
20. Uncover and bake until the cheese on top becomes golden, about 15 minutes longer.
21. Let stand for 10 minutes.
22. Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinara sauce in a heavy small saucepan over medium heat until hot, and serve alongside.
23. Enjoy!

Thank you for joining me today. This dish is perfect for any occasion and would pair perfectly with a fruity, red wine such as Sangiovese. Have a great day, enjoy your dinner, and I will catch you on the flip side. Happy blogging to all! <3