Step-by-Step: Swiss Chard + Pork Lasagna Roll-Ups (Even With "Ricotta")

I got this idea of this from my sister. Not really sure why I had never thought of it before.

This gets a separate blog post, as I thought it beneficial to show the process in photos. This did take some work to put together in stages (something I usually am too lazy to do), but it was completely worth it - especially when you end up with a 9 x 13 pan full of roll-ups for your week.

A few neat things came out of the creation of this recipe:

1. I no longer have to make lasagna in the old way. Roll-ups can be individually customized and are just so much more fun to plate.

2. I now have a go-to ricotta/cream cheese-ish replacement for future dishes (think consistency, not substitute for exact flavour). 

3. I also have a good generic meat sauce as a go-to for any future pasta dish (or to plop on top of a sweet potato or nacho plate).

Although the roll-up idea came from my sister, the inspiration for this particular recipe came from the market. After spending only $20 at the market on the weekend, we ended up with a lot of leeks and swiss chard (among other things) without a real plan to use it. Add in some defrosted ground pork and some white lasagna noodles to be used up (I'll switch over to brown rice pasta for the next batch), we had ourselves a meal.

Ricotta ("Cheese") Filling

Adapted from GoDairy cookbook

1 cup of pumpkin seeds, soaked in an inch of water (it called for sunflower seeds, but I only had pumpkin seeds)

1/2 cup of water (extra from above)

1 1/2 tbsp of lemon juice

1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar

1 garlic clove

1/2 tsp of maple salt (use any!)

Place all in the magic bullet and blend until it's the consistency you want!

Swiss Chard and Pork Filling

From Allie's Kitchen

1 pkg of ground pork

1 big bunch of swiss chard, leaves removed from the stems (use lots as it wilts down!)

1 leek, chopped (white and green parts)

Italian spices, salt, pepper

2- 1/2  cups of tomato sauce (doesn't need to be exact, just buy a big can - I used plain)

Brown the ground pork. Add the leek, spices and 1 cup of your sauce. Cook for 2 minutes. Add in the swiss chard and the rest of your sauce, saving enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Let simmer on low.

Cook your noodles!

Bring Everything Together:

Pour the remaining tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.

On waxed paper, lay out the lasagna noodles and top each one with ricotta filling then your sauce filling. Roll carefully and place each roll in the pan. Note: save some filling!

Once you have done this for everything, top with the remaning meat filling to ensure the noodles stay moist. 

I topped my dish with Daiya Cheddar Cheese and Nutritional Yeast Flakes. You can top each individual piece with more of the ricotta filling upon serving if you have any left.

Bake covered at 375 for 20 minutes, then an additional 15 uncovered. Voila!

**Notes on Recommended Recipe Alterations: 

- If you want to make this gluten-free, switch to the brown rice noodles

- If you want to make this to paleo, slice a zucchini in extremely thin pieces and use that instead of noodles for your wrap

- If you want to make this vegetarian or vegan, I recommend adding diced eggplant instead of pork

- Swiss chard can be replaced with spinach or kale and will be just as good

- Leeks can be replaced with shallots or regular onions

Enjoy! This one is a goodie....