Ricotta-Lasagne Swirls

I think we picked this recipe up from some '60s or '70s vegetarian cookbook when my brother was going through his vegetarian phase. That has long since passed, but it's still an excellent comfort food dish!

Please note that this dish needs to be heavily seasoned. Do not skimp on the salt & pepper unless you prefer bland food. I also added a pinch or two of cayenne to the tomato sauce. Likewise, more sauce is better. I didn't have any tomato sauce on hand and used a 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes instead, blending about half of the mixture so it wasn't quite so chunky. While it tasted fine, it wasn't quite enough sauce.

filling

1 bunch fresh spinach or 1 package frozen spinach

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

1 cup ricotta

pinch of nutmeg

salt & pepper

sauce

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves (or more) chopped garlic

2 cups tomato sauce

1/2 teaspoon basil

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook 8 lasagne noodles until soft. Drain and let cool. Saute onions in some olive oil. When soft, add garlic and cook for one minute longer. Add tomato sauce and seasonings, and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Coarsely chop the fresh spinach and saute in some olive oil until completely wilted, OR defrost the frozen spinach and drain well. Mix together with the rest of the filling ingredients. Divide into 8 portions--should come out to about 2-3 table spoons each. Coat each lasagne noodle with a portion of the filling, roll up and place in a casserole dish (or in this case, end up in a bread pan-shaped dish). Cover with sauce and bake for 30 minutes.