GF Lasagna Roll Ups w/ Goat Cheese & Grilled Swordfish!

We are now officially in the Lenten Season.  This means, no meat on friday…well, it turns out, we have that covered:) But it is also the season of fish fries and giving up sweets, or fast food.  Well, I’ve decided not to “give up” anything — “food wise” — this year. My diet is limited enough as it is; giving up something world make life nearly impossible. So this year, I’ve decided to “work on” something instead:) I’ll be trying practice more patience, and work on my temper…:/ UC doesn’t just affect your body…also your emotions. :/

cute little GF veggie lasagna roll up!

So for dinner tonight, I decided to make comfort food and vegan-ize lasagna! Thinking about it, I thought…how fun would it be to make little individual roll ups!

These were *good* A bit labor intensive, but sooo worth it. I made 2 sauces: one was a marinara sauce, and the other was the spinach & mushroom filling.

Marinara:

1/4 red onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can organic diced tomatoes

dried oregano and basil

1/4 c white wine

fresh basil

I sautéed the onion and garlic in 1 tsp EVOO with salt and pepper in a small sauce pan. After a few minutes I added the herbs. After about 6 minutes, I stirred in the wine, let it reduce and then add in the tomatoes.  Let that warm through for about 5-7 minutes, and take off the heat.  Stir in the fresh basil.

Next, the spinach/mushroom filling.

1/2 red onion, fine dice

~10 baby bella mushrooms, chopped to a fine dice — almost minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

dried oregano and basil

1/2 c white wine

3 big handfuls of spinach, chopped finely

I sautéed the onion and garlic in 1 tsp EVOO for about 5 minutes and added in the dried herbs and mushrooms. I let those cook down until the mushrooms released their water. After about 5 more minutes, I stirred in the white wine and the spinach.  Finally, after the spinach wilted, I stirred in about 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce.

so much flavor!

Now that the 2 sauces were finished, I was ready to roll ;) I cooked 8 brown rice lasagna noodles until al dante. I put a piece of tin foil (sprayed with olive oil spray) on the counter, and then laid out my noodles. Next to my “rolling station,” was a small casserole dish, sprayed with olive oil spray.  I put about 1/3 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish. Then, I put a heaping T of the spinach/mushroom filling on the lasagna noodle, and rolled it up! I then placed it seam side down in the dish. I rolled out the remaining 8 of them, and then combined the remaining filling with the marinara. I then spooned this new mixture over top all the rolls. To really make it special, I sprinkled a bit of grated raw goat cheese (Old Kentucky Tomme) over top. I baked it for about 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven until the cheese had melted.

gorgeous grilled swordfish!

With this delicious lasagna roll up, I served grilled swordfish! YUM! This wild, ocean caught fish from Lobsta Bakes was so scrumptious. I put 1 tsp EVOO, salt, pepper, and lemon juice on the steaks, and grilled them for about 5 minutes per side. They had such a fantastic texture: really meaty and dense. Yet it was still moist and really tender. It was a nice contrast from the delicate, buttery, flakey, fish we’ve been having lately.

mmmmmm!

This meal was just yummy.  There’s something about lasagna that is so comforting, and makes you feel all warm inside. The wonderful thing about this lasagna is that it doesn’t weigh you down, and make you feel lethargic like most lasagnas do! Since the filling was just veggies, it was light, yet extremely satisfying.  A funny thing happens when you finely chop — almost mince — mushrooms. They take on a flavor and texture that is very similar to ground beef! A perfect filling for our lasagna! When all was said and done, this meal only had 3 tsp EVOO, and a small amount of goat cheese! Wow. Healthy, flavorful, and 100% happy tummy approved:)

To grill my Swordfish, I used my Grill Pan! It's such a convenient tool - you can grill all year 'round! No matter what the weather! Here's a great one: