CEiMB #6: Portobello Lasagna Rollups with Easy Tomato Sauce

So today is another great day of the week: Thursday! That means it's time for Craving Ellie in My Belly. There has been a change at CEiMB: Leigh didn't have enough time to host CEiMB anymore, so Natalie stepped up to take over: thanks!! If ever you need any help what so ever: please email me!!! (I'm serious: do email me!) This means we have a new website, so check it out here and if you like what you see and would like to join in, please do!! We would love to cook with you! All you need is a copy of the book Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger and the willingness to cook with us for at least 2 out of 4 weeks.

So this week it was my turn to pick something delicious and healty for us all to cook and boy was it difficult to choose! There are so many great recipes in this book, but eventually I settled on Portobello Lasagna Rollups with Easy Tomato Sauce from pages 152 and 153.

Why did I pick this recipe? Well.... first of all I love pasta, second of all I love tomato sauce, third of all I love mushrooms and last but not least: the idea of rolling up lasagna started to intrigue me. I never thought of rolling up lasagna before in my life!!! Ow and did I already mention we also had to make the sauce?? So it was two recipes for the price of one!

The recipe serves six, because that is way too much for little old me I halved the recipe for the lasagna to 3 portions of 2 rollups. Somehow I managed to make 7..... Very strange!! I did make the whole recipe for the tomato sauce and used it all.... I also forgot to half the ammount of cheese....

I bought some fresh Lasagna sheets at the supermarket. I wouldn't need to cook them and should be able to roll them up immediately according to the packaging. Easy peasy, right?? Absolutely not!!! The lasagna sheet did roll up, but since it was a tad dry and the filling was warm it soon started to break.... :( I only found this out after I already rolled up the first two sheets. In the picture above it's pretty clear which ones I messed up......

So after that I just popped the sheets in boiling water for a minute or two and that seemed to work. Into the oven and voila: beautiful and tasty lasagna rollups! I absolutely loved these and will most definetely be making them again!! And soon too!!! I may use a bit more salt and pepper then though...

I can't wait to see what the Ellionisas thought of my pick, if you're also curious: look here.

Easy Tomato Sauce

(makes 3 cups, serving size 1/2 cup)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups) I used red onions

2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)

Two 28-ounce cans whole tomatoes, drained and the tomatoes chopped

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 bay leaf

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, uncoverd, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Portobello Lasagna Rollups with Easy Tomato Sauce

(serves 6: serving size 2 rolls)

12 whole-wheat lasagna noodles (about 3/4 pound)

2 teaspoons olive oil

12 ounces portobello mushrooms, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups Easy Tomato Sauce (see recipe above) or store-bought marinara sauce

One 15-ounce container part-skim ricotta cheese

One 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry

1 large egg, lightly beaten

Freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of ground nutmeg

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan I used Pecorino

3/4 cup grated part-skim mozzarella cheese (3 ounces)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Drain well and spread them out on a sheet of aluminum foil or waxed paper to prevent them from sticking.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and all the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, stir in 1,5 cups of the tomato sauce, and simmer for two minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, egg, the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, a few turns of pepper, and the nutmeg.

Spread 1 cup of the remaining tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Spread out about 2 tablespoons of the ricotta mixture onto a lasagna noodle. Top with about 1,5 tablespoons of the mushroom mixture, then roll up the noodle and stand it up or lay it down in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles, ricotta mixture, and mushroom mixture. Spread the remaining 1,5 cups tomato sauce over the lasagna rolls. Top with the Parmesan and mozzarella, cover loosely with foil, and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.

Up next for CEiMB are two great picks, I'm already looking forward to both of them:
Oven-Fried Chicken, page 213 for November 20th, hosted by Lonely Sidecar
Macaroni and Four Cheeses, page 168 for November 27th, hosted by Supplicious