Rotolo Fritta – Fried Rolled Lasagna Recipe

Directions

• Rolled Fried Lasagna (Rotolo Fritta)
• On a floured surface, lay out one of the double-wide pasta sheets. Then spread out a thin layer of the ricotta mixture all across it – leaving about 3 inches of pasta bare at one end (the excess pasta will help seal up the roll). Spread the filling as evenly as possible.
• Atop the ricotta filling, spread out a layer of the Italian sausage mixture. The layer should be as thin as possible, while still having full coverage across the ricotta.
• Sprinkle a light layer of shredded Mozzarella over top of the sausage layer. This layer does not need wall-to-wall coverage. Just a light, even sprinkling.
• Starting at the end opposite of where you left the excess bare pasta, carefully and tightly roll everything into a tight log. When nearing the end, brush a small amount of water on the area that was left bare, and then finish rolling. The moisture will help “glue” the roll closed. Then cover the whole roll in some plastic wrap until ready for it again.
• Repeat Steps 1-3 to create a second layer of pasta, ricotta, sausage, mozzarella. Then lay the first rolled log onto this second layer, and roll it all up into an even bigger log (gluing the end closed like described in Step 4).
• Carefully but tightly wrap the entire large log in plastic wrap. This plastic wrap should help the log retain it’s generally-round shape. Then lay the whole wrapped log onto a baking sheet and place in the freezer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Carefully unwrap the log and cut it into thick slices (about the size of a hockey puck). Then lay each slice down on parchment-lined baking sheets, and freeze for 1 hour.
• Set up a dredging station using 3 bowls or deep trays. Put the flour in one bowl, the bread crumbs in the second bowl, and the eggs in the third bowl. Thoroughly beat the eggs with a fork. Optionally season the bread crumbs with Italian seasoning and salt.
• Straight from the freezer, coat each “hockey puck” in flour. Be sure it’s well coated, but shake off any excess clumps. Then bathe it in the egg – again ensuring total coverage all over. Finally, coat in bread crumbs. Be sure to press and drop lots of crumbs all over to ensure it is completely covered on all sides and surfaces.
• Pour vegetable oil into a deep skillet or Dutch oven – enough that the oil is at least 1 1/2 inches deep. Heat the oil to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Carefully set in a couple of the breaded pucks. Only do a couple at a time, and don’t over-crowd the pan. Let them fry for a couple minutes, until the bottoms are looking golden brown. Then carefully turn them over and fry the other side – again until they are looking golden brown.
• Transfer the fried pucks to a wire rack while frying the remaining pucks.
• Serve by spooning some warm marinara sauce over top, sprinkling some Parmesan cheese, and optionally garnishing with chopped parsley and/or basil.
• Ricotta Filling
• Combine all ingredients and stir very thoroughly (by hand or with an electric mixer).
• Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Italian Sausage Filling
• In a Dutch oven or large skillet, brown 2 pounds of ground Italian sausage over medium-high heat. As it cooks, break it up as finely as possible with a potato masher or similar.
• Remove browned meat with a slotted spoon, and then place meat in a colander to drain any excess grease. Remove and discard most of the grease left behind in the pot, leaving behind about 2 Tablespoons.
• Over medium-high heat, saute the chopped onion in the remaining grease. Once translucent and softened, add the minced garlic and cook another minute.
• Turn off the heat, and return all drained meat to the pot. Stir to combine the meat, onion, and garlic.
• By stir in the marinara sauce and thoroughly mix into the meat (either by hand or with an electric mixer). Meat should be lightly moistened and have pretty fine crumbles that will spread nicely.
• Cover the meat mixture and set aside until ready for to use it (or refrigerate if you won’t be using it for more than an hour).
• Pasta Sheets
• The pasta dough can be done all by hand, or with the help of a large stand mixer. This large batch can also be divided into 2 smaller, more easily-manageable batches.
• Beat the eggs/egg yolks, and add to the flour. Then add the salt and olive oil. Fold the wet into the dry until it all comes together into a rough dough. Then knead for several minutes until it all becomes a somewhat smooth, cohesive ball that is no longer crumbly or loose.
• Tightly wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 30-45 minutes.
• Divide the large dough ball into 4 equal portions. Work with 1 portion at a time, while the other portions remained wrapped in plastic.
• Using a pasta rolling machine, begin rolling out the first portion of dough. Start at the widest setting, and with each pass through the rollers, adjust the setting down 1 notch. Once the pasta is about as thick as a lasagna noodle (setting 4 or 5 on most machines), that sheet is ready. The sheet should be the width of the pasta machine, and be relatively straight and symmetrical. If between any pass through the machine, the dough feels tacky or sticky, dust it with some more flour.
• Lay the completed sheet on a well-floured surface and cover with plastic wrap while you work with the next portion of dough.
• Repeat the steps to turn the second portion of dough into a sheet of pasta, making it the same shape/size as the first sheet. Then lay it alongside the first sheet, overlapping it by about an inch. Use a rolling pin to gently press the two sheets together, doing your best to smooth out that center seam. Then cover this double-wide sheet of pasta with plastic wrap while you work on the next step.
• Turn the last 2 portions of dough into sheets, and join those two sheets together to make one double-wide sheet (just as described in Step 7). In the end, you should have two double-wide sheets of pasta. Always keep them on a floured surface and covered in plastic until ready to use them.