Who doesn't love a good lasagna? The only thing not to love about it is how it presented in the dish, but this rolled version solves all of the problems. I figured this might be the perfect Valentines Day meal to make for your family or for a significant other. Plus it is so easy to make and makes for such a pretty presentation.
Bring a large stock pot filled 3/4 of the way full with water to a boil.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Add 1 ½ tablespoons salt to boiling water and carefully insert all of the lasagna noodles to the boiling water. Boil for 6 minutes.
In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, parmesan cheese, basil, spinach, lemon zest and juice. Add salt to taste. Stir until all ingredients are fully incorporated.
Place a large piece of parchment or wax paper on 2 baking sheets or counter. Drain lasagna noodles, rinse with cold water and drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil so they don’t stick together. Place lasagna noodles out flat on the parchment paper. Spread 1/3 cup of the cheese and basil filling on each of the lasagna noodles. Cut the fresh mozzarella paper thin and divide it among the lasagna noodles about 3 slices for each noodle. Roll up the noodles and set them aside.
If you are using a large deep pan like mine or a dutch oven like this, you can use the same pan to cook your pasta and pasta-meat sauce mixture and then use the same pan to bake the lasagna in so you're only using one pan for this recipe.
Heat the pan to high, add olive oil and meat, sauté for a few minutes while breaking down the meat into smaller pieces. Add in the jar of tomato sauce, let is heat up and cook for a few minutes. Turn off the heat, add in the basil and salt if needed, mix well.
Reserve half the sauce to top the noodles.
Carefully place the rolled noodles upright in the pot, making sure they don't tip over until all of them are tightly in place.
Pour the remaining pasta sauce over the top. Cover with foil so the tops don't dry out. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Five minutes before it's done, top with grated mozzarella, don't cover with the foil again and return back to the oven until cheese has melted. Remove from oven, garnish with plenty of freshly chopped basil and extra parmesan if you prefer.