Caprese flavors in Lasagna Form!
Aww, just look at all the gooey, soon to be stretched and strung (upon my no longer empty fork) cheese and dream of what could be yours! Italian comfort food at its finest. The saying third times a charm, it’s true. Yes this is my third attempt at creating what I’d envisioned, and at last a beautifully delicious success. The first time I tried Chicken Caprese lasagna roll ups – strange texture and not my favorite flavor, the second time around I omitted the chicken and made them using fresh Mozzarella – far to soupy and (I was expecting some liquid but I’m telling you half the baking dish was filled with the liquid from the fresh Mozza). The texture of the fresh Mozzarella seemed a little gummy when it melted too. So, the third time I went with a more traditional cheese filling with the average low-moisture part skim Mozzarella cheese and lots of it, a bit of Parmesan for flavor and a little Ricotta to help bring it together. The egg white also helps glue and bind the mixture together, I decided to omit the yolk because I wanted to keep my cheese filling nice and white so it has that Caprese-y look. Besides, omitting the egg yolk is my attempt at making them healthier. That’s laughable I know. I say cheese = calcium, so this is somehow good for me. This dish has everything you find in the traditional Caprese flavors and many of the traditional lasagna flavors. Really this is lasagna simplified both in flavor and preparation. With that I don’t mean to say their flavor is bland and boring, they are just simple yet incredible flavors.
How to Make Caprese Lasagna Roll Ups
To create the Caprese style filling, you begin with a cheese filling that’s mostly Mozzarella, then it’s layered with fresh Roma tomato slices and sprinkled with fresh basil. Then you roll it up and top it with a simple marinara sauce made from crushed Roma tomatoes, and you sprinkle over more Mozzarella cheese, bake it and then garnish it with fresh basil ribbons. So, they are Caprese inside and out. I love the fresh flavors of this entree and all that heavenly cheese of course! Who knew vegetarian could be so good? Enjoy! This is how the layering should look, this was attempt 2 with fresh Mozzarella (which I highly don’t recommend). I just didn’t want to take a third round of pictures of the prep, so the only difference when you make them will be the use of shredded mozzarella rather than the fresh Mozzarella in the bottom layer. The top picture was end result of recipe listed.
