Green Lasagna Rolls - gluten-free, vegan, gorgeous, and yummy!
These vegan rolled-up lasagna noodles with greens, homemade cheesy sauces, and pesto are oh oh oh so good! Takes some time to cook, but absolutely worth it! They are gorgeous and delicious! Can be gluten-free.
EITHER use storebought pestovegan if you like OR the following ingredients (or any pesto recipe!)
2clovesgarlic
3cupsfresh basil leavesloosely packed
1/2cuppumpkin seedsthe kind with no shells (I like Anthony's Organic)
1/3cupolive oil
1tablespoonfresh lemon juice
1/2teaspoonsalt
Vegan cheese filling
1package of extra-firm tofu14 to 16 ounces
1/4cupof pestosee above
1tablespoonolive oil
1tablespoonfresh lemon juice
1/2teaspoonsalt
Greens
10ouncesor one bunch of kale or spinach or chardeither the frozen kind, defrosted, or fresh and finely chopped
White sauce
1cupcashews
3/4cupwater
2teaspoonscornstarch or 1 1/3 teaspoons potato starch
1/2teaspoonsalt
Instructions
Pasta
If you are using dry lasagna noodles: Boil the lasagna noodles for 10-12 minutes. Drain, add cold water to the pot to make the noodles cool enough to handle, then take out each noodle and lay it flat on a nonstick surface such as a silicone mat or a non-stick cookie sheet. (If the noodles touch, they are likely to stick to each other, so this flattening step actually saves a lot of time.)
OR: If you are using fresh lasagna noodles from a pasta machine: Run the pasta machine and extrude 1 noodle, then pause the machine. Fill the raw noodle with fillings (see below), roll it up, and then extrude the next noodle and repeat.
Pesto
If you are making your own pesto, put all of the ingredients into a food processor (not a blender) and blend until you have a smooth-ish paste.
If you are using storebought pesto, open the container and go on to the next step!
Cheese filling
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mash them together.
Greens
Stir the greens into the cheese filling.
White sauce
If your blender has a smoothie jar, this is the perfect size. Place all ingredients in the blender container and blend for several minutes, until very smooth and creamy.
To assemble
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Get out either a 9x13 pan or a nonstick cookie sheet. If your pan is not nonstick, lightly oil it.
Place a noodle on a nonstick surface. Spread about 1/4 cup of the cheese-and-greens mixture on top of the noodle, leaving a little filling-free space at each end. Roll it up and place it seam-side-down in the pan. Repeat with all of the noodles.
Pour the white cashew sauce over the lasagna rolls. Use a spatula to carefully make sure that all of the pasta is covered. (Uncovered pasta tends to burn, so some care with this step is helpful.)
Bake for 20 minutes.
Decorate
Place 2-4 tablespoons of the remaining pesto into a plastic bag and cut off a corner, about 1/4 inch from the edge. (I love pesto very much, but too much pesto really can get to be too much here. If you have more than 2-4 tablespoons of extra pesto, don't use it all here! Instead, I suggest putting the extra into a silicone ice cube tray, freezing spoonfuls of it, and then popping out the pesto cubes into a plastic bag in the freezer, so that you can defrost some when you want it.) Use the plastic bag to draw decorations on the lasagna rolls - hearts or zigzags or stars are nice here, or whatever you would like.
Serve!
Serve 2-3 lasagna rolls to each person. They are good with a side of broccoli, or a salad.