The Simple Method To Turn Your Lasagna Into Edible Roses

Flowers make for a beautiful centerpiece on your kitchen table, but what if there was a way you could have your bouquet and eat it too? No, we aren't talking about cooking with edible flowers. We're talking about a beautiful bouquet of edible lasagna roses. And don't worry — even though you can't use a lasagna shortcut for this recipe, making these saucy blossoms is much easier than you'd think.

The first step to making lasagna roses is prepping all of the components that will make up your flowers. This includes a red sauce, meat sauce, or bolognese, your ricotta cheese mixture, and, of course, your lasagna noodles, which should be cooked al dente. Once everything is prepared, it's time to assemble your flowers.

Start by laying your lasagna sheet flat on the counter. Spread a layer of ricotta across the noodle followed by meat sauce and any other ingredients of your choosing. Then, starting at one end of the lasagna sheet, carefully roll up the noodle, making sure not to squeeze out any of the ingredients. Repeat until all of your noodles have been transformed into flowers, which you can then place standing up in a baking dish that has a generous layer of sauce spread across the bottom. Top your bouquet with some additional sauce and cheese, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, and then dig in.

Making a massive tray of lasagna roses is one way to bring some fun and beauty to your next meal. You could even sub out your lasagna noodles for thin slices of zucchini or eggplant, or roll up spinach leaves in the noodles to really give the dish that classic floral look. For the instances where you only need a few roses rather than a full dozen, swapping out your standard 9x13-inch pan for a muffin tray can do the trick.

For this method, you'll want to cut your lasagna sheet in half crosswise and spread the fillings across only one half of the noodle, saving the other half for later. After greasing the tray, place a single rose upright in the center of the muffin cup and sprinkle a few tablespoons of shredded cheese around it, followed by a layer of sauce. Then, cut the second half of the lasagna sheet in half again, this time lengthwise so you have two long noodles, which you can wrap one at a time around the rose already in the tin. Add in some extra sauce and cheese in between the noodle halves you just added in, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Once your meal is cooked, you'll be left with individually portioned lasagna roses that you can remove from the muffin tray one at a time, eliminating any risk of ruining the rest of your bouquet.