My favorite thing about food is that there are countless combinations you can create and never be bored. In most cases, you can literally put two of your favorite things together and make something amazing… and that’s exactly what I did here.
Put a Caprese salad in front of me and it will be gone in about five minutes. And lasagna is the type of food that I think we can all agree feels like a hug when you eat it. This combination really is the best of both worlds.
The rolls are also perfect to keep as individual servings, so you can make them last a few days. Or you can just eat them all at once.
Not only do the flavors of this dish combine perfectly in your mouth, it’s also really fun to make. Throw on some Italian-sounding instrumental music and you’ll feel like you’re on vacation in an Italian villa — which is really all everybody wants right now, right?
Cook time: 30 minutes
Serves 4Ingredients:4 lasagna noodles
2 small Roma tomatoes
½ cup chopped basil
¾ cup part skim ricotta cheese
7 oz. shredded low-moisture part skim mozzarella cheese
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 large egg white
Ground black pepper
1 cup marinara saucePreheat oven to 350˚F and then boil 6 cups of water.
While water is boiling, wash and cut tomatoes into thin slices (about ¼ inch thick) and wash and chop basil.
Cook noodles until al dente, or for about 8 minutes. Be careful that they don’t tear! I had a few near-casualties. Drain noodles, place on a piece of aluminum foil, and set aside.
To make the cheese mixture, add ricotta, mozzarella (keep some mozzarella aside for topping), Parmesan and egg white into a large mixing bowl. Whisk together until well mixed and season with ground pepper.
Spoon cheese mixture onto noodles and spread evenly. Place tomatoes and basil on noodles.
Roll up noodles and place in a greased baking dish. Top each one with marinara and extra mozzarella. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.
KATIE MORRIS looks forward to bringing you tasty, easy recipes every week that work with the typical college student’s time and budget. Contact her at kemorris@ucdavis.edu.
