Spinach-Ricotta Pinwheel Lasagna
 
 
by:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 8 ounces ripple-style oven-ready lasagna noodles
  • 8 garlic cloves, minced, divided
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 2 cans (28 ounces each) crushed tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
  • 1 bag (16 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 2 cups part-skim ricotta
  • ¾ cup grated Parmesan
  • 1 cup fontinella (or fontina) cheese
Instructions
  1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Add lasagna noodles to 2 quarts of piping hot salted tap water in the 13- by 9-inch baking dish for the lasagna. Add noodles; soak until soft, about 10 minutes. Drain, stack, and halve lengthwise to create 24 strips.
  2. Meanwhile, add 5 of the garlic cloves and 2 tablespoons of the oil to a Dutch oven; turn burner to medium-high. When garlic starts to sizzle, add tomatoes and enough water (1/2 cup or so) to make a sauce that is neither gloppy nor thin. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and continue to simmer to blend flavors, about 10 minutes.
  3. While sauce simmers, add basil and remaining 3 garlic cloves and 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet. Turn burner to medium-high. When garlic sizzles, add spinach; sauté until warmed through, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in ricotta and ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese; adjust seasonings.
  4. When ready to assemble, spread 2 cups of the tomato sauce in a 13- by 9-inch pan. Working 6 noodles at a time put a generous 2 tablespoons of spinach filling down each of the lasagna strips. Roll up to create a pinwheel shape; Place pinwheel-side down in the prepared pan. Repeat with remaining noodles and filling to make 4 rows of 6 noodles. Drizzle another 2 cups of sauce over dish, sprinkle with fontinella and remaining ¼ cup of Parmesan. Cover with a vegetable cooking spray-coated sheet of aluminum foil.
  5. Bake until bubbly, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove foil, and leaving pan on upper-middle rack, broil until golden, 3 to 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven; let rest 5 minutes. Serve with remaining warm tomato sauce served alongside.
Recipe by Three Many Cooks at https://threemanycooks.com/conversations/pretty-in-pinwheels/