Ok I have to start this by saying this is equivocally one of the best lasagna dishes I’ve ever had let alone made!
I find that most lasagna with noodles (gluten-free or not) are very heavy as it is with pasta dishes. Oh and by the way this particular one is not gluten-free but could be modified easily. So because they are so heaving and I always feel cruddy afterwards; I virtually don’t eat pasta much at all. It’s high in fat and a pain to make but this!
So lately I have been trying more and more recipes with Wonton wrappers and this by far is the best I’ve played with yet! In taste and consistency you’d be hard pressed to know the difference if it was served to you and you hadn’t been privy to the prep of it. Lasagna as a whole can be a tedious project layering unless you go with the noodles that don’t require pre cooking; and this is exactly the same idea as that but is even easier. I have done other Lasagna recipes that Ill post as we go along but I can not stress enough that this in all facets is easier especially if you have a family to feed and will go through a fair bit in a sitting. As opposed to the Lasagna cupcakes that I do; which are a great idea for portion and packing for meals. Stay tuned for that one. 😉
What you’ll need can be changed according to your likes and dislikes of course but this is a dish to get some of those yummy veggies into your kids, or spouse for that matter. 🙂 But in keeping it relatively basic I’ve opted not to add a bunch in.
So let’s have at it!
Wonton Wrapper Spinach Lasagna
INGREDIENTS
- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1-2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 3 medium sized onions
- 12 ounces fresh spinach
- 1 package ground beef (or a meatless substitute for us vegetarians)
- 2 packages of wonton wrappers
- 1 24 ounce canned tomatoes
- 3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese (regular mozza or I use the fat-free mozza)
- 2 pounds of cottage cheese (Or ricotta if you prefer)
- 1 egg
- Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS:
- Chop onions in a med fine-cut
- Begin by heating 2 tbsp oil in the skillet over medium heat and once it’s warm add the garlic thyme and oregano. Saute for about 3 minutes.
- Add onions to saute and continue to saute until onions are golden brown; about 15 minutes.
- Add your meat or meat substitute and stir until cooked (For substitutes this is usually about 10 minutes).
- When done put in a large bowl and add in the canned tomatoes (or sauce)and stir well. (Tip: freeze and unused sauce/tomato in ice-cube trays and use next time. I added tomato sauce to my tomatoes for texture. That is what the red frozen bits are in the bottom left photo)
- Using the same pan add 1 tbsp of oil and when warm add the spinach and stir until it is barely wilted (About 2 minutes)
- Remove from heat and set aside
- In a large bowl whisk the egg, salt, nutmeg and oregano and stir; then add the cottage cheese and stir well. Add the spinach and stir until ingredients are all combined. If you find the spinach didn’t break up enough you can add pulse it in the process or I use a my hand blender)
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a 9 x 13 pan spread a little of the tomato mix in the bottom of the pan. Layer with wonton wrappers then about 1/3 of the cheese and spinach mixture and then more tomato sauce (to your taste) and 1/4 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat once or twice more (can do twice as the wrappers aren’t as thick as lasagna noodles). Be sure to end with noodles, sauce and mozzarella.
- Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and when you remove the foil you will see the wrappers have puffed up a bit; just give them a poke with a fork and they’ll go back down. Sprinkle with Parmesan and continue cooking uncovered for 10 – 15 minutes until brown.
- Let stand for 10 minutes so the dish can set and serve
Ignore the extra pan in this picture as I made a lager batch to freeze and you can do the same if you have left over. It freezes great!
I would love to hear if you try it and what you think. I kid you not that it is amazing!!
Enjoy!!
