Pesto Lasagna Roulades Recipe
"Pesto Lasagna Roulades." Sounds like something tasty! But, um... what exactly IS this dish? 😄 This is an entirely fair question since it's not often that you see the word "roulade" next to "pesto" and "lasagna". But trust us - this creative take on lasagna is one for the ages!
The word "roulade" originates from the French word "to roll". Roulades are often made with thin slices of steak or pastries, and as one might expect, there's some rolling involved... But why are we applying this technique to lasagna?
Consider the following: What's the best piece in a sheet of lasagna? That's right - the corner piece! Now, this Pesto Lasagna Roulade recipe effectively delivers a perfectly crispy corner piece with each serving.
It's all in the technique that starts with the perfect amount of creamy, delicious pesto ricotta filling, and is all rolled into perfectly cooked lasagna noodles. These little rolls of tastiness are then topped with cheese and a velvety bechamel sauce, and are then baked to perfection.
And the best part? This recipe takes a fraction of the time that standard lasagna does! So, let's get cookin!
Ingredients:
(Recipe makes 6-8 servings)
- 1 Tbs of High-Quality EVOO (Any of these will do nicely!)
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Pepper
- 12 Lasagna Noodles
- 2 Tbs of Unsalted Butter
- 1 1/2 Cups of Whole Milk
- 1 Large Egg
- 2 Cups of Whole Milk Ricotta
- 1 10oz Pack of Frozen Spinach (Chopped, thawed, and gently squeezed dry)
- 2 1/2 Cups of Shredded Mozzarella
- 3/4 Cup of Grated Parmesan
- 1 Cup of Pesto Sauce (Store-bought pesto is just fine, but you're also welcome to level things up with BH's Homemade Pesto!)
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes (Optional)
Shopping done? Let's get cooking.
Instructions:
Act 1 - Organization for the Win:
"A kitchen well prepared makes for the best lasagna rolls". You know - like Grandma always used to say! 😉
In all seriousness, this recipe does require a bit of organization in execution, so we've compiled a list of all the cooking tools you'll want to collect and prepare.
- Oven – for baking the lasagna rolls. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F, please!
- Large pot – to boil the lasagna noodles.
- Baking sheet – to lay the noodles in a single layer after cooking.
- Medium saucepan – to prepare the béchamel sauce.
- Whisk – for whisking the sauce ingredients.
- Large bowl – to mix the ricotta filling.
- Measuring cups – for measuring ingredients like cheese, pesto, and sauce.
- 13x9-inch baking dish – to assemble and bake the lasagna roll-ups.
- Pastry brush – to brush oil onto the baking dish.
- Foil – to cover the baking dish during part of the baking process.
- Wooden spoon or spatula – for stirring the sauce and filling mixture.
- Knife or spoon – to spread the ricotta mixture on the lasagna noodles.
- Tongs or spatula – to transfer the lasagna rolls to the baking dish.
Act 2 - Proper Lasagna Prep:
Grab that large pot, fill it with enough water to accommodate the Lasagna noodles, and bring 'er to a rolling boil. (Once the boil is achieved, don't forget to liberally salt the water!)
Gently situate the lasagna noodles in the pot and cook for about 1 minute longer than the package's directions for "al dente". We know! This sounds like the opposite of what you normally hear about not overcooking pasta, but don't forget - we'll be filling and rolling these noodle sheets later. Malleability is good!
Once the pasta is tender enough such that it can roll without cracking, drain well, rinse the noodles with cold water, and arrange each noodle in a single layer on a baking sheet (or sheets).
Act 3 - Bechamel Brilliance:
Bechamel sauce is not only quick-n-simple to make, but it adds to the quintessential creaminess to lasagna. So, break out that medium saucepan, and start by melting the butter!
Once the butter has melted, add the flower and lightly toast it. Be sure to stir the flower for the roughly 2 minutes it takes to adequately toast.
Next, whist in the milk, a sizable pinch of salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Keep cooking this mix (stirring frequently, please!) until the bechamel thickens up to the consistency of a somewhat thin gravy. This should take between 6 and 8 minutes. Allow the sauce to cool a bit.
Act 4 - Pesto... Presto!:
Our next component is the all-important, ricotta-based filling for our lasagna roulades. The good news is that it's as simple as some mixing!
Grab the egg, and beat it in a large bowl. Do make sure it's a large bowl, as the next step is to stir in the ricotta, 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, the spinach, 1/2 cup of pesto, a sizable pinch of salt, and a couple grinds of pepper.
You still have 1/2 cup of pesto, right? Right. Grab that, and stir it into our (now-slightly cooled) bechamel sauce.
Act 5 - Roll, Roll, Bake:
Brush your favorite 13'-by-9' baking dish with oil, and spread about 1/4 cup of the pesto-infused bechamel sauce onto the bottom of the dish.
Lay half of the cooked lasagna noodles onto a work surface (e.g. a clean cutting board or a clean counter). Next, spread 1/3 cup of the ricotta mixture evenly over each lasagna noodle. Pay special attention to an even ricotta spread, as the next step is to neatly roll each noodle up! Start rolling each lasagna noodle from the short end, and gingerly use both hands to complete the roll.
As you finish each roll, transfer them to the prepped baking dish. Be sure to place them in the baking dish "seam" side down. Repeat this process for each noodle with the remaining ricotta mix.
Evenly spoon the rest of the bechamel sauce over the lasagna roulades now snugged nicely into their cooking vessel. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and the final 1/4 cup of parm.
Cover the baking dish with foil, and pop it into your 425-degree F oven. You'll want to cook the roulades until their heated through and the sauce is nicely bubbling. This first stage of cooking should take about 20 min.
After the 20-min initial-cooking interval, remove the foil so we can get that deliciously crispy cheese crust! Allow the cheese to brown for about another 10 minutes in the oven. (Of course, be sure to keep an eye on things! We don't want to burn it at this point.)
Once the cheese is adequately browned, crispy, and delicious, remove the baking dish from the oven, sprinkle with a few red pepper flakes, and let 'er rest for about 5 minutes before serving.
Finally, serve and enjoy!