Eggplant and Pine Nut Rolled Lasagna

Eggplant and Pinenut Rolled Lasagna

I tend to get my fresh vegetables on Tuesday, so by the time Sunday rolls around, I’m down a lot of produce. I wanted to make something yummy for dinner, but the only fresh veggie I had was an eggplant. My husband has undertaken a massive pantry operation (we have synched eLists and everything now), so I knew I had lasagna noodles, canned tomatoes, and pine nuts in with our non-perishables.

I’ve been wanting to play around with the idea of rolled lasagna for a while. It’s fun, easy, and not as messy to serve. I’ve found that vegan lasagna falls apart even more readily than its dairy counterpart since it doesn’t have solidifying cheese to keep it together. Rolled lasagna holds its shape marvelously and it’s attractive. It’s also a great way to make smaller portions of lasagna, if you don’t want a huge casserole dish full of it.

I baked mine in gratin dishes (you know me and individually portioned food). You can just as easily bake this in one large dish; there shouldn’t be a difference. You can also fill them with whatever you like. I think sundried tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, roasted peppers… any of those would be a fabulous addition. I’ll add some possible variations to the recipe below.

Eggplant and Pine Nut Rolled Lasagna
Serves 4 (easily adapted)

8 Lasagna Noodles
1 Eggplant
Olive Oil
Salt
Black Pepper
2+ Cups Marinara Sauce (your favorite)
2 Slices Bread, toasted (or prepared breadcrumbs)

Pine Nut Spread
1 Cup Pine Nuts
1 Tbs Water
1/2 tsp White Wine Vinegar, or lemon juice
1 tsp Dried Italian Herbs
1/4 – 1/2 tsp Salt

Variation Ideas:
Add 1/3 Cup of Sun Dried tomatoes to pine nut spread
Add 1 Cup of sauteed spinach when filling
Add fresh baby spinach leaves when filling
Add 1 Cup of sauteed mushrooms when filling
Add strips of sauteed summer squash when filling

Lasagna NoodlesBoil noodles in salted water until al dente. Drain and lay out the noodles on a cookie sheet, lightly spraying with oil so that they do not stick. Set aside.

Peel eggplant. I find the easiest way to do this is to cut off both ends and use the edge provided to get your vegetable peeler started. I’ve found it difficult to get the peeler to cut the skin otherwise.

Place the eggplant upright on the cutting board. Slice the eggplant in long, thin vertical slices. Then slice each of these in half again, also vertically. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Sliced Eggplant

In a large non-stick or cast-iron skillet, begin browning the eggplant strips in olive oil, 2-3 Tbs a batch (or more). When strips are very tender and nicely browned on both sides, set aside.

Cooked Eggplant

In the hot skillet you cooked the eggplant in, add the pine nuts. Toast the pine nuts over medium-low heat until golden brown, being careful not to burn. Add the pine nuts to the work bowl of a food processor. Grind the nuts as well as you can, then add the remaining ingredients for the pine nut spread. Process until well combined.

Toast the bread and process into breadcrumbs.

Preheat oven to 400º F.

Assembly

Spread a little pine nut spread ontp each noodle. You don’t need a lot, it’s very rich! Add eggplant strips, as well as any other filling.

Filling Rolled Lasagna

Roll up each noodle and place in your baking dish(es) seam-side down. Cover generously with sauce.

Eggplant and Pinenut Rolled Lasagna

Top with breadcrumbs and bake for 20-25 minutes. Since everything is already cooked, they just need to heat up and slightly brown. If you’re baking them in individual gratin dishes as shown here, place all the dishes on a baking sheet for easier removal from the oven. Serve immediately!

Eggplant and Pinenut Rolled Lasagna

135 comments

  1. akahn

    I’m curious what you use for sauce here? I can make a yummy red sauce with canned tomatoes, but it is never this red, or this thick. Ideas?

    I use one of the large (24 oz?) cans of Muir Glen Organic Tomatoes. My standard sauce:

    Heat 3-4 Tbs of olive oil in a large skillet with high sides. Add 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes and 2-3 tsp of dried italian herbs. Add blended tomatoes. Add 1 vegetable bullion cube (or 1 tsp salt) and cook on high for 10-20 minutes until thickened. That’s it! You can also add garlic to the oil before adding the tomatoes. I also sometimes add a few knobs of earth balance, or nooch, and lots of black pepper.

  2. ¡Yo Soy Liz!

    i love the idea of doing personal lasagna rolls because I am usually cooking for just myself and I have no use for a giant casserole of lasagna. Looks soooo good I might have to whip this up tonight.

  3. allularpunk

    i’ve been making lasagna rollups forever, and you’re right – they are much less mess than regular lasagna! i usually do spinach and a basil-tofu ricotta. yum!

  4. Chris

    I’ve never made rolled lasagna, but this looks like a great strategy for portion control :P Seems like a little bit of work, but it’s probably well worth it. Will give it a shot some day soon! Great pictures, too :)

  5. Marianne

    Such a great idea, and really, you could sub out anything you wanted for each of the components to make your own individual lasagnas – perfect for us single people :D

  6. Emma

    WOW – that looks amazing. The photos are fantastic and the recipe sounds incredible. I’m going to have to try this one at home!!! Thanks for sharing.

  7. dryxi

    Ironically my boyfriend came home and requested lasagna tonight. I made this, but the store was out of eggplant so i went ahead and made it with spinach. It was delicious!

  8. pen

    oh i love your individual portions. i think my children would like the “party food” appeal of their own dish. and i agree, rolled lasagne looks like better portion control for us second-helpers!
    thanks for your great ideas.

  9. Rathna

    Hi Lolo,
    I dowloaded your app to my iPhone recently. It’s wonderful. First time to your blog. I’ve now become an ardent fan of you. Your blog really great and all the pictures are simply amazing, inspiring. The posts are really detailed and well written. Keep up the good work :-)

  10. Jennette

    I made this tonight – the sun dried tomato method and it was super fantastic! Thank you for the recipe and for the great visuals. You Rock!
    Jen

  11. Emma

    I hope I can find some lasagne noodles like that! Eggplant lasagne is the best lasagne ever, and that is the prettiest eggplant lasagne ever, so…

    What do you use to keep track of your pantry?

  12. Bar

    Ohhh it looks so yummy!! I want to thank you for you photography blog. You are really a inspiration to me! I just started food blogging and your photography blog was so helpful. Thank you!

    Would you like to exchange links?

    Greetings from Holland!

    xxx Bar.

  13. vegan on stage

    I cannot believe this is the first time ive been to your blog.. ITS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!
    I cant wait to try this recipe. Usually when I find vegan recipes for lasagna they include tofu (which im allergic to) so the fact that this one doesnt is totally exciting! THANK YOU!

  14. Pingback: Veg Blog Round-Up: News From Around The Web // Archives // ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip
  15. ReneeK

    Thank you for such an inspired recipe! As soon as I saw it, I knew what I would be making for dinner that night. A quick rummage through my veggie drawer, and much to my dismay I was out of eggplant. Instead, I used lightly sauteed mushrooms and added sun-dried tomatoes to the pine nut mixture. Some fresh basil rolled in and I had a scrumptious meal for one. I very-much regretted reducing the recipe, because I would have loved leftovers the next day. Thank you for such a wonderful blog. I’m a big fan.

  16. sara strother

    weird…i made mac and cheese recently and now i’ve been working on a vegan lasaganawith a white cream sauce…must be something in the air. the cold invites those hardcore carb cravings with creamy, rich compliments. radar love…

Post a comment

You may use the following HTML:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>