I had a craving for lasagna. But then I saw some eggrolls, I decided that would be what I'll have. But then Mr. Lasagna barged in and said "oh no you don't!" and stomped on my hopes of having a delicious eggroll for dinner. But I was determined to have my way whether Mr. Lasagna liked it or not. So I bargained with Mr. Lasagna and made a clever compromise. I combined the two together and made a hybrid of sorts. A food marriage meant to be.
Mr. Lasagna was happy and I was happy, even Ms. Eggroll was happy. Happy, happy, happy all around. Happy, happy, joy, joy as I do my little Ren and Stimpy dance.
Here's what the compromise consisted of: I sauteed some mushrooms, zucchini and green onions in a tiny bit of soy sauce and then carefully wrapped them up in some egg rolls wrappers with a little of ricotta on top. Rolled them up like a traditional egg roll and basted them with some egg wash to give the wrappers a nice little crisp. Rather than deep-frying the egg rolls, I baked them instead. While that baked I cooked up a simple tomato sauce/dip to pair this with using some tomato chunks and sauce with a blend of dry herbs. Lasagna with an semi-Asian twist.
Mr. Lasagna was happy, indeed.
Makes 10-12 rolls.
Veggie Lasagna Egg Rolls
2 medium zucchini - chopped
1 lb mushrooms - chopped
2 green onions - chopped
10-12 egg rolls wrappers
ricotta cheese
salt
pepper
olive oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 egg - lightly beaten
1 Tbsp water
Shredded cheese (optional)
Tomato sauce
1 12oz can diced tomato
1 6oz tomato sauce
1-2 garlic clove - finely chopped
1 tsp dry basil
1 tsp dry oregano
1 tsp dry parsley
1 tsp dry thyme
Preheat your oven to 400˚F
Combine the egg and water in a small dish. Set aside.
In a skillet, saute the green onions, zucchini and mushrooms until they are tender and slightly darker in color. Add the soy sauce and season with a little pepper. Remove from heat and let it cool for a couple minutes.
Take an egg roll wrapper and lay it on a flat surface like a diamond in front of you. Scoop some of the zucchini mixture onto the wrapper slightly 1/3 from the corner closest to you. Then top with some ricotta cheese. Gently roll the corner 1 1/2 towards the other corner, then fold in the sides. Baste the top corner with the egg wash and seal the egg roll.
Place in a lightly greased baking sheet. Do the same for each.
Before baking baste each egg rolls with the egg wash. Then bake for 10-12 minutes.
While the egg rolls bake, make the sauce. Saute the garlic for 30 seconds, then add the tomato chunks followed by the tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer on a medium to low heat. Season with a little salt and pepper. Then add the dry herbs.
When the eggs rolls are ready serve on a place a ladle over some of the sauce. Top with some shredded cheese.
