It’s basil season! And spinach season! And, well, let’s just say it’s lasagna roll season, too.
These make a great appetizer if you’re doing a little summer entertaining, or a filling entree if you prefer. Tofu ricotta is elevated with the addition of some Pumpkin Seed Pesto. The mellow flavor of pumpkin seeds really lets the basil shine. The sautéed spinach is really really garlicky, as is the pesto, so this makes the perfect date night meal.
What I really love, besides how flavorful these are, is the texture. Baking the rolls makes the noodles soft but still toothsome, with little crunchy bits on the edges. Smothered in cashew cream and pesto and finished off with a scattering of additional pumpkin seeds, these lasagna rolls will fulfill even the most wild fantasies: creamy, crunchy, velvety, chewy, and hearty all at once. Yes, there are a few components here, but none are too difficult to pull off and also LASAGNA ROLLS.
Serve with Caesar Salad to round out the meal!
PS This is my first blogpost using only iPhone photos, so take a deep breath with me. Sorry $2000 camera, this is just easier. Since I’m not an aspiring photographer, I’m not ashamed to admit that adjusting lighting and apertures and editing in Photoshop is just too labor intensive for me these days. A few adjustments in VSCO cam, a button to upload to Flickr, and my work is done here. You get the picture. Har har.
Notes
~You don’t need all of the lasagna noodles called for, but go ahead and boil the whole package to account for some breakage. Saute the leftovers and broken ones for dinner the next night.
~The amount of ricotta made is just enough to fill the rolls, so go easy with the taste testing and don’t overfill the rolls, or you might not get ten out of the deal.
~I put the pesto in a little plastic bag with a hole cut out of the corner to pipe it nicely over the rolls. Then just spread it a bit with a spoon and it’s real pretty like.
~I make the white sauce before the pesto to cut down on cleaning a little bit. You can pour the white sauce out and then just rinse the blender without having to do a major cleaning, since who cares if a little bit of cashew cream ends up in your pesto.
Ingredients
12 oz lasagna noodles
For the white sauce:
1 cup cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the pesto:
2 cloves garlic
3 cups fresh basil, loosely packed
1/2 cup pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds), plus extra for garnish
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several dashes fresh black pepper
For the ricotta:
1 14 oz extra firm tofu, crumbled
1/4 cup pesto
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the spinach:
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
10 oz baby spinach
Directions
Make the noodles:
Bring a big pot of salted water to boil and cook the noodles al dente, stirring occasionally to make sure they don’t stick together. If they seem to be, use metal tongs to gently peel them apart. Once cooked, drain them in a colander and run them under plenty of cold water to make sure they stop cooking and don’t stick together.
Make the white sauce:
Drain cashews. In a blender, combine all ingredients and blend until completely smooth. This could take 1 to 5 minutes depending on your blender. Scrape down the sides of the blender with a rubber spatula every minute or so to make sure you get everything. Set aside.
Make the pesto:
Place garlic cloves in a blender and pulse a bit to chop. Add basil, pumpkin seeds, olive oil, nutritional yeast, lemon juice salt and pepper and blend. It should still have some texure and not be completely smooth. Thin with a few tablespoons of water to get it into a spreadable consistency.
Make the ricotta:
In a medium mixing bowl, mash tofu with your hands or an avocado masher, until it resembles ricotta cheese. Mix in pesto, nutritional yeast, olive oil, lemon juice and salt until well combined. Set aside.
Make the spinach:
Preheat a large heavy bottomed skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium low heat. Add the olive oil and garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add spinach and cook, stirring often, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
Assemble and bake:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9×13 inch casserole dish with olive oil.
Spread 3 tablespoons of ricotta mixture evenly over each lasagna noodle, leaving a little room around the side edges and 1/2 inch at each end.
Scatter about 3 tablespoons of spinach mixture over the ricotta. Starting at the bottom end, roll noodle up and place, seam side down, in the casserole dish. Continue with all remaining noodles. Pour the white sauce over the rolls in thick ribbons.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until edges are lightly browned and white sauce is thickened. If after 25 minutes the rolls are not browning but the edges are crispy, place under a broiler on low heat for a minute or two, keeping a very close eye so that they don’t burn.
Remove from oven and smother on remaining pesto. Garnish with additional pumpkin seeds and serve!
I tried this greaat recipe a few weeks ago, it was just as if we have imagined, thanks a lot! I used pine nuts instead of pumpkin seeds and I highly recommend it!
Looks really really nice. Good job.
Green lasagna roll is one of my favorite. I love this dish because it is very spicy and yummy. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I don’t eat cashews what can I substitute them with?
Looks delicious
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I made this for my non vegan cousins and now I have a this reputation as greatest cook ever. They are in awe of me.
Oh, these look absolutely amazing, Isa!! I seriously can’t wait to give them a try as soon as possible. 🙂 I often use vegan basil ricotta for pinwheels (http://veganheaven.org/recipe/vegan-basil-ricotta-pinwheels/ ) and I also make it with tofu but I usually add some soaked cashews. I brought these to a party a couple of weeks ago and people didn’t even realize they were vegan. 😀
This Look Delicious. Thank You For Sharing.
That recipe was freaking amazing!!!! We all loved it including my non-vegan hubby and son-in-law. Way to go Isa…..love love all your great recipes….thanks for all the great work and especially for sharing with all of us..keep up the great job! 🙂 From Canada with love….
This recipe look so healthy, I’ll cook it for dinner tonight. Thank you very much for the share.
This is the best recipe what I’m seen! Thank you!
Hi! I’m a vegan athlete 🙂
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Buenisimo que rico este tipo de comidas la verdad me encanta muchas gracias por compartir esta receta, saludos!!
I’m lucky that I found your site. I just can’t express how much I liked this recipe of yours. The green lasagna rolls look out of this world. Sure they will taste the same. I must give it a try. Great job, IsaChandra! Cheers!
Great pictures and recipe! I have to cook this today! 🙂
Can you do this with canellonis?
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Nice recipe so delicious and picklicious
This was such a hit when I made it, that I started using the pepita pesto as a pizza sauce! Trader Joe’s wheat pizza dough topped with this pesto (your recipe is exactly the right amount to cover one pizza without waste!), covered in some sauteed mushrooms and baby broccoli = my new favorite vegan pizza recipe.
Thanks for this recipe (and a hundred others that have improved my life by at least like 15%)! <3
I made this and it was awesome! Thanks Isa!