Many, many years ago when I was still living at home lasagna became my specialty dinner to make for the family. My cousin Shirl taught me how to make an “authentic” Italian sauce. Needless to say it took hours of simmering the sauce and layering seasonings to make the dish taste absolutely wonderful. It also took a while to assemble the lasagna between the pasta, sauce, meat and cheese.

Fast forward to today and I can honestly say I do not have the same amount of time to cook as I did many, many years ago. I still love lasagna but now I prefer a lighter version of my old layered lasagna. The new recipe is filling but does not make you feel sleepy or bloated after you eat.

Rolled Lasagna is just a simpler way of layering lasagna without losing all of the wonderful flavors you find in a typical lasagna casserole. To keep it light, I replaced the ground meat with prosciutto and added spinach which gives the lasagna a nice finish.

Besides flavor, one of the best things about my Rolled Lasagna recipe is that each lasagna noodle is individually portioned. Getting seconds is easy and so is clean up.

Rolled Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 lb lasagna noodles

2 cups ricotta cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

1 box frozen chopped spinach thawed

2 pkgs prosciutto

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 tbsp chopped parsley

2 tbsp chopped basil

1 jar tomato sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook lasagna noodles according to package then lay out flat to cool. Drain spinach and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, parsley and basil. Take one lasagna noodle a spread the cheese mixture over the noodle. Add two pieces of prosciutto to cover the cheese then add dollops of spinach on top of the prosciutto. Roll up the lasagna noodle from one end to the other. Place the rolled lasagna seam side down in a casserole dish. Repeat rolling with remaining noodles. Pour sauce over lasagna and then cover with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until cheese is melted and slightly browned.