Lasagna Rollatini

Recently I saw a picture with a recipe attached shared on Facebook. The picture immediately caught my eye and after looking at the recipe I knew for a fact that I could make them even better by using my imagination and disregarding the recipe! Tonight I made them for dinner with some input from my children as to what they would like theirs to contain. I made these from start to table in just over an hour.

I started by getting a large pot of salted water boiling and cooked 5 sheets of dried lasagna noodles at a time. While cooking the noodles I finished prepping the rest of my ingredients. I mixed 1 pound of ricotta cheese with a large egg (beaten lightly) and a little bit grated pecorino cheese. I then sliced several fresh off the vine tomatoes. Diced a handful of garlic cloves. Chopped up some spinach, diced a red pepper and an onion as well as some parsley and basil. Once my noodles were cooked al dente I removed them from the pot and layed them flat on a cutting board. Then the fun part began!

Alex requested his to have a clam sauce filling so I sauteed some of the diced garlic in olive oil along with the diced red pepper and onion. I added some clam juice along with chopped clams and a pinch of dried thyme and a diced fresh tomato. I seasoned it with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and let it simmer down till the liquid had reduced and what remained was nice and thick! I then took it off the stove and sprinkled in some fresh chopped parsley. I let the clam sauce cool while I coated each noodle with the ricotta mixture. Next I sprinkled mozzarella cheese and spooned the clam sauce down the center of each noodle and finished with a light sprinkle of pecorino.

Clams and Peppers and Onions, Oh my!

Ariel requested that I make hers like a margherita pizza. Once again I coated the noodles with a layer of ricotta, a sprinkle of mozzarella fresh basil (mine was frozen from last years garden) and finished with a layer of thinly sliced tomatoes and a sprinkle of pecorino.

As beautiful as the Italian flag

The last ones were my idea. I use to make a veggie lasagna when I was a chef for a living and everyone use to rave when I would put in a layer of my seasoned chopped spinach. So I figured if it works in a pan why not in a roll! I sauteed the chopped spinach with olive oil and garlic. I seasoned it with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Once it was all cooked I placed it in a strainer to get some of the liquid out. Once again I coated the noodle with ricotta and mozzarella. Next I added the spinach and finished by adding more shredded mozzarella!

Once all the filling was in place I rolled them into pinwheels making sure to tuck any of the filling back in from the side if it started to fall out. I placed them in my favorite deep sided baking pan and coated them with my homemade sauce that I always have on hand for pasta.

I placed them in the oven for 15 minutes at 450*F. Once the sauce was bubbling and the filling piping hot I covered them all with a handful of shredded mozzarella and put them back in the oven for 5 more minutes!

After the cheese had melted I placed the pan on the counter for 10 minutes to allow the filling to set and make them the perfect temperature for serving and eating!

I hope you are inspired to make this meal yourself and fill it with whatever your taste buds desire!

Homemade Sweet Tart

I love citrus especially lemons and limes. The smell of lemons reminds me of my Grandmother, Angelina Aquilino. I can remember watching her spritz her wrists with the oil from a fresh lemon peel as an all natural perfume when I was a child and the smell of fresh lemon floods my mind with so many great memories of time spent together. The powers of citrus are amazing, you can use them as a perfume, as a cleaning agent and my favorite as food! 

We tend to make a monthly trip to our local Costco and during the spring and summer months they usually have bags of lemons and limes in the produce section at an amazing price. At the grocery store it is usually close to $1.00 for a lemon and when they are on sale you may find limes 2 for $1.00.During our last trip I decided I wanted limes and for around $5.00 I bought my mesh bag of several dozen limes. 

The first thing I do after rinsing them is slice several of them into wedges and place them next to the water jug in the refrigerator then I juice several of them for use in my daily cooking. Then I start thinking of other ways to enjoy them. 

Last week I decided I wanted pudding. I like making homemade pudding with lemons so I decided I would try making it with limes instead!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup cornstarch

5 cups milk

6 egg yolks, lightly beaten

Grated lime zest (I used several limes worth)

Pinch salt

1 cup fresh lime juice

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions:

Whisk the sugar and the cornstarch together in a medium saucepan. Add the milk and whisk until smooth. Add the egg yolks, zest, and salt and cook, stirring frequently at first and constantly towards the end, over medium heat until thickened.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and butter. (If you don't want any bits and pieces you can pour through a strainer) Pour the mixture into a large serving bowl or individual serving dishes.

Let cool to room temperature. Chill, loosely covered, for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days, or until set and thoroughly chilled. Serve chilled.

This can also be poured into a pre-cooked or cookie type pie crust for a key lime pie style desert!

P.S: Next time I think I will skip the butter. I liked the sheen it gave the finished product but didn't care for the buttery notes it gave the pudding.