This time of year I am more than guilty of binging on heavy meals - I mean those carb laden heavy meals that sit in your tummy until lunch the next day. Those guilty kinds of means. The heavy ones that are oh so worth it. (The sweat your tush off at the gym the next day meals) And lasagna has to be one of my favorites.
I had to travel a few weekends ago and wanted to leave something hearty and delicious behind for my man and these little lasagna rolls were born. I baked them in personal gratin dishes (two or three rolls in each) so that all Handsome had to do was reheat one when he was ready for supper. I also had the forethought to make enough that I wouldn't have to cook the night I was traveling back home either. Bam, dinner was on the table.
This meal could easily be adapted to serve a larger group of frozen ahead and saved for busy weeknights.
Pesto Artichoke Lasagna Rolls
Ingredients:
- 10 lasagna noodles (you may want to make a few extra just in case of tearing or dog theft)
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 lb spicy sausage, removed from casings
- 1 onion, minced
- 1 9oz package frozen artichoke, thawed (or one 14oz can rinsed and drained), minced*
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup pesto
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese, divided
- ½ cup mozarella cheese
- Sauce of your choice. I used sun dried tomato alfredo on two dishes and a creamy alfredo on the other two.
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Prepare the lasagna noodles according to the directions on the package in a large pot of salted water. After draining, I hang mine over the side of the pot so they are easier to grab later.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and brown, breaking into small chunks along the way. Add the onion half way through while cooking the sausage and let it soften. Add the artichoke and garlic, mix together and cook 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
Mix the pesto, ricotta cheese, egg, and salt and pepper in a bowl. Add ¼ cup of the parmesan cheese, stir to combine.
Line the bottom of a baking dish or individual gratin dishes with a light coating of sauce.
On a clean work surface, lay out your lasagna noodles. Scoop out about two tablespoons of ricotta filling into each, smoothing with the back of a spoon down the middle. Top with about two tablespoons of the sausage mixture. Repeat for a few and roll them up. Arrange seam side down in your prepared pan and continue until the rest of your noodles are filled.
Spoon sauce over the tops of the noodle rolls and sprinkle with remaining mozarella and parmesan cheese.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, until sauce is bubbling and cheese has melted. Let cool 5 - 10 minutes before serving.
*Normally, I mince everything with a knife, but for the sake of speed and how fine a mince I wanted on the artichoke mix, I used a 'chopper'. One of those hand held smack it and it chops mechanisms.
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen says
"...in case of tearing or dog theft." ha! These look tasty 🙂
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
I loooove me some lasagna rolls! And these are fabulous!
Tanya C. says
These look incredible!
RavieNomNoms says
Oh how I adore artichokes! I think they are so under rated. So many people seem to not like them in anything but artichoke dip too. That is SO not the best way to have them. Looks gorgeous Kita!
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says
This sounds incredible - I love artichokes and don't use them enough!!!
The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time says
Handsome is so, so lucky! They look amazing. I think I'll take mine with the creamy alfredo.
Belinda @zomppa says
If I had this in my freezer, I'd have them for breakfast too!
Danielle says
Usually I'm not a huge fan of classic lasagna, but this version looks absolutely fantastic!
Lynna says
Oh my gosh...these look scrumptious. I loveee lasagna.
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
It has artichokes in it so it has to be healthy, right?
Rossana says
Hi I want to try your recipe, have a small question. For the "light coating of sauce" you are referring to the sausage and artchoke sauce?
I'm doing it for a dinner with my boyfriend's parents, any wine suggestion to go with it?
thanks!!!
Kita says
Hi Rossana, to line the bottom of the baking dish with a coating of the alfredo sauce (or sauce of your choice) that you will be using for the recipe. Just spoon a little into the pan and spread it about. Reserve the sausage mixture for the stuffing of the rolls.
As for wine, I stuck to white for this dinner. I am not a terribly savvy wine drinker and usually end up asking the clerk for recommendations. Sorry to not be more help on that one!