Three Cheese Zucchini Stuffed Lasagna Rolls

It’s a good weekend for pasta. You know how I know? Every weekend is a good one for pasta.

That was easy!!

If there’s a reading nook and a good book involved in the weekend pasta plans….I’m there.

Seriously, though, there are some really good things happening in this dish of weekend pasta. It’s the height of summer garden produce, so we’re taking full advantage of …..wait for it….. zucchini!!! (again)

This time it’s mixed with ricotta and Parmesan cheeses and stuffed into lasagna rolls that are then topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese–delicious, kid friendly, and kind to waist watchers. You can make them a day ahead and refrigerate, or if you like to cook for the week(s) ahead, they are freezer-friendly. This is a great recipe to make double of and share with someone in need, they’ll thank you! (BTW they are vegetarian also, perfect for Meatless Mondays!)

By now you’ve discovered that these roll-ups are another way to use zucchini. I’ve been thinking about lasagna a lot lately, but instead of making the traditional lasagna, these rolls are so much easier to make and they’re great for portion control. I have made this same recipe using spinach in the filling, but when my neighbor brought me some zucchini from her garden I thought I’d try out this zucchini version instead. These turned out so good; light, not too filling but very flavorful. I’m so glad that I have yet another way to use zucchini.

If you plan to freeze these, you can freeze them individually in ziplock bags or freeze them as a finished dish ready for the oven. You can also freeze any that you’ve baked, but didn’t finish eating.

THREE CHEESE ZUCCHINI LASAGNA ROLLS

Yield: Makes 8 servings @ 240 cal./servings

Ingredients:

8 lasagna noodles, cooked al dente
1 tsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 medium zucchini ( 7 oz. each), grated and squeezed dry
1 cup + 2 tbsp. part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. salt
black pepper
1 3/4 cups Marinara sauce
1/2 cup part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded
fresh basil for garnish, (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Lightly grease or spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Ladle about 1 cup of sauce onto the bottom of the baking dish and set aside.

2. In a medium nonstick skillet, saute garlic and olive oil over medium heat for about 1 minute; add zucchini, salt and pepper to taste and cook about 4 -5 minutes, until soft.

Sauté garlic and zucchini till soft.

3. In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini, ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, salt and pepper. Stir to mix well.

Mix ricotta with the zucchini, Parmesan and egg.

4. Lay out the lasagna noodles on a clean work surface. Pat noodles dry with paper towels. Spread about 1/3 cup filling evenly over each noodle.

Spread each noodle with 1/3 cup filling.

Roll carefully and place seam side down into peppered baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.

5. Ladle the remaining sauce over the lasagna rolls and top each one with 1 Tbsp. mozzarella cheese.

Ladle on more sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Cover dish with foil and bake for about 40 minutes or until the rolls are heated through and the cheese is melted. Top with fresh basil if desired and serve hot.