With lasagna rolls, there’s no need to fight over the biggest piece or bake too much in a big tray. Each person gets a roll: a hearty, pre-portioned serving of lasagna filled with cheese, tomato sauce, and CDO Sweet Ham.
What are lasagna rolls?
If you’ve been to Banapple, you might have seen the lasagna rollups on their menu. Instead of forming layers, you make pinwheels out of lasagna sheets, pasta sauce, and cheese. Like a cinnamon roll, but lasagna!
Unlike Banapple’s lasagna rolls which lie on their side, we took a cue from New York restaurant Don Angie and baked these rolls face up. This creates a crunchy top of ruffled pasta edges, much like the crusty corners of a layered lasagna.
Inspired by the classic ham & cheese sandwich, we lined these lasagna rolls with CDO Sweet Ham, béchamel, and mozzarella cheese. Just a single layer of ham slices brings a much-needed sweet-salty meatiness to the pasta. Elevate your everyday meals with CDO Sweet Ham!
Ingredients
Béchamel
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- salt and pepper
- freshly grated or ground nutmeg, to taste
Lasagna Rolls
- 10 sheets lasagna
- extra virgin olive oil
- 2 500g bottles tomato sauce
- 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
- 2 250g packs CDO Sweet Ham, sliced in half
- 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup whipped cream cheese
- ¼ cup chopped parsley, for garnish
Prepare béchamel and lasagna
Heat milk: Add milk to a saucepan over low heat. Heat up milk until little bubbles form around the edges.
Make roux: While waiting for the milk to heat up, melt butter in a separate pot over medium heat. Once it starts to foam, add flour and whisk until smooth to form a roux. Keep whisking until mixture starts to bubble and slightly change color, about 3–4 minutes. Do not let the roux brown.
Make béchamel: Once milk is warm, working in batches, slowly pour the milk into the roux. Whisk constantly, making sure to pick up the corners and the bottom of the pan, until the sauce comes to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and let sauce simmer, still stirring continuously, another 2 minutes. Add nutmeg and adjust seasoning to taste. Remove from heat and cover béchamel with a parchment paper cartouche. Set aside and let cool.
Cook lasagna sheets
Cook lasagna sheets: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna sheets to package instructions. Once lasagna sheets are finished cooking, transfer sheets into an ice bath to cool completely. Lay cooled lasagna sheets in a sheet tray and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Place a sheet of parchment paper on top to prevent the pasta from drying out. Repeat with remaining lasagna sheets.
Assemble lasagna rolls
Prepare for baking: Preheat oven to 400°F or 200°C. Add about 80% of the bottled tomato sauce to the bottom of a casserole or baking dish.
Make lasagna rolls: On a clean surface or large sheet tray, lay two lasagna sheets down, overlapping the edges by at least 2–3 inches.
Between the overlap, evenly smear at least 1–2 tbsp béchamel to “paste” the sheets together, making one long lasagna sheet.
Smear a thin layer of béchamel across the long lasagna sheet. Sprinkle at least ¼ cup of grated mozzarella over the béchamel.
Starting from the right side of the long lasagna sheet, add halved CDO Sweet Ham slices over the cheese, overlapping each piece by a bit, to cover the lasagna sheet with ham. Finish by adding ¼ cup (or a little less) of tomato sauce over the ham in a thin, even layer.
Starting from the left hand side, carefully roll the lasagna all the way to the right, taking extra care when you get to the lasagna sheet overlap. Once you reach the end, carefully turn the lasagna roll to face up. Gently place the roll into the casserole or baking dish.
Repeat with remaining ingredients; you should have 5 lasagna rolls total.
Bake lasagna rolls: Sprinkle Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan cheese over the lasagna rolls. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil on top. Bake lasagna rolls uncovered for 20 minutes, or until the tomato sauce starts to bubble. Remove lasagna rolls and increase oven temperature to 450°F or 230°C. Pipe whipped cream cheese in dollops over the lasagna rolls. Return to oven and bake for 5 minutes. Let lasagna cool down for 10 minutes. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve hot.
