Kale, Mushroom & Sun-Dried Tomato Lasagna Rolls Recipe {Vegetarian} Recipe
by Cookin Canuck

Try this vegetarian dinner recipe of Kale, Mushroom & Sun-Dried Tomato Lasagna Rolls for your next Meatless Monday meal.

After consuming my fair share of Chopped Kale Salad with Grapes & Feta Cheese last week, I put my thinking cap. With a garden bed full of kale (that makes me smile just to type those words), I needed to get creative. I could go the green smoothie route, which I probably will in the next week or two. However, what I was really craving was a hearty vegetarian meal.

I might have to eat mushrooms on my own, for lack of any other mushroom lovers in the house, so it’s a good thing that these lasagna rolls turned out well. I’ll be eating them for lunch for the next five days. Fine by me!

When I first posted my Healthy Lasagna Recipe with Turkey, Pesto and Peppers last year, I was excited to show you how I made the notoriously fatty dish into a low-calorie diva. I used the same trick when I made Leftover Turkey (or Chicken) Lasagna Rolls just after Thanksgiving.

The trick is simple: cottage cheese. Instead of a heavy bechamel sauce, I puree low-fat cottage cheese in the food processor and use that as the sauce, seasoning the heck out of it so that you don’t miss the extra fat.

On top of the “low calorie/low fat” kudos, this dish gets bonus points for the vitamins and minerals provided by the kale and mushrooms.

It’s a keeper!

The recipe:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the whole wheat lasagna noodles and cook until just tender. Drain the noodles, gently rinse with cold water and lay on a kitchen towels, separated from each other.

For the filling, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large frying pan set over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for additional 30 seconds.

Add the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil and the mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the kale and cook until the kale is slightly wilted and bright green, about 1 minute. Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and allow it to cool.

Place the cottage cheese in the bowl of a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.

Stir the cottage cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, basil, dried chile flakes, salt and pepper into the mushroom mixture.

Lay a few lasagna noodles on a cutting board. Spread 3 heaping tablespoons of the mushroom mixture along each noodle. Starting at one short end, tightly roll up the lasagna noodle and filling.

Prepare a 9- by 13-inch baking pan by spreading 1 cup tomato sauce on the bottom. Arrange the lasagna rolls, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining lasagna noodles and filling.

Spread additional 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce on top, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Other vegetarian dinner ideas:

Cookin’ Canuck’s Black Bean Sliders with Creamy California Avocado Sauce
Cookin’ Canuck’s Roasted Vegetable Pasta Salad with Eggplant, Zucchini & Feta
Kale, Mushroom & Sun-Dried Tomato Lasagna Rolls Recipe {Vegetarian}
From the kitchen of Cookin Canuck. www.cookincanuck.com
Ingredients
12 whole wheat lasagna noodles
3 tsp olive oil, divided
1 small yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. crimini (Baby Bella) mushrooms, sliced
8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced
2 cups roughly chopped kale
1/2 cup (about 1 1/4 oz.) sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
12 oz. low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, divided
8 fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp dried chile flakes
3/4 tsp kosher salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 cups tomato sauce (your favorite kind)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until just tender. Drain the noodles, gently rinse with cold water and lay on a kitchen towels, separated from each other.