Mary Berry’s ‘crispy’ lasagna rolls are the perfect comfort food dinner recipe

Lasagna is the ultimate comfort dish, but this recipe can be turned into a pasta bake, making it even easier to cook for dinner.

Mary Berry's baked pasta lasagna rolls are a fun version of this classic dinner and can be perfect to serve as a meal or even at your next BBQ this summer.

It takes around 15 to 20 minutes to prepare this simple recipe before placing it in the oven to cook for 30 minutes.

Mary wrote in her cookbook ‘Simple Comforts’: “A great pasta bake, this has rolled pasta sheets filled with sausage meat and spinach all baked in a tomato sauce.

“The pasta will be soft underneath and crispy on top.”

How to make baked pasta lasagne rolls 

For the tomato sauce:

• One large onion (finely chopped)
• Two celery sticks (finely chopped)
• One large garlic clove (crushed)
• Two (400g each) tins of chopped tomatoes
• Basil (chopped)
• Half a teaspoon of sugar
• Two tablespoons of sundried tomato paste
• Two tablespoons of olive oil
• Salt and pepper

For the filling: 

• 300g of pork sausage meat
• 150g of button mushrooms (finely chopped)
• 100g of baby spinach
• 100ml of double cream
• 50g of parmesan cheese
• One red chilli (finely chopped)
• One garlic clove (crushed)
• One tablespoon of olive oil

For the topping: 

• 25g of Gruyere cheese

Kitchen equipment needed:

• Shallow ovenproof casserole dish with a lid
• Large frying pan

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas Mark 6.

To make the tomato sauce: Heat the olive oil in a casserole dish and add the onion and celery, then fry for a few minutes on a high heat. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste and 150ml of water, then bring to a boil.

Continue to stir the mixture, season, add the sugar then cover and simmer for around 15 minutes. Add the basil and sir. Spoon six heaped tablespoons of the tomato sauce into a bowl and then set aside.

To make the filling: Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the sausage meat and brown over a high heat, making sure to break it up with a wooden spoon. Add the chili, mushroom and garlic and fry for a few minutes, then add the spinach to cook until wilted.

Add the cream, then remove the pan from the heat and set aside until the filling is cold, then stir in the parmesan cheese and season to taste.

Soak the lasagne sheets in a dish of boiling water for two minutes to soften them a little, then drain and dry with a kitchen towel. Arrange the lasagna sheets on a work surface and divide the filling mixture between them, spreading it over each one.

Roll up each one, starting from the short end to make a tight roll, and trim any excess pasta, Slice each tube into three pieces using a sharp knife.

Place each roll cut side up in the tomato sauce in the pan, arranging them in a nice pattern. Bake for about 20 minutes until the pasta is just soft and the tomato sauce is bubbling.

Remove the dish from the oven, spoon over the reserved tomato sauce and sprinkle with Gruyere cheese. Put the dish back in the oven for another 20 minutes until the top is crispy, then serve piping hot.