Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Spicy Kale Lasagna

It's snowing. In April.  Not just snowing.  Thunder Snowing. It's a blizzard out there....and depressing as that may be, this Spicy Kale Lasagna is sure to warm your heart and soul.  I've made the classic lasagna with ground beef, but I've never made a vegetarian version.  Since I had kale on hand, I gave this a whirl - and it was so yummy!  The spiciness to it was a perfect addition and with plenty of cheese...how could you go wrong?   

 Spicy Kale Lasagna 
Yield: about 8-10 servings
Ingredients:
1¼ lbs. kale (or spinach), stems removed
3 tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes, (preferably with herbs)
2 tsp. kosher salt, divided
1 tsp. lemon juice
4 cups cottage cheese
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
¾ tsp. pepper
16 no-boil lasagna noodles (or noodles cooked according to package directions)
Directions: 
To prepare the kale, bring a large pot of salted water to boil.  Add the kale to the pot and boil for 2 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water until cool enough to handle.  Wrap the kale inside a clean kitchen towel and wring out as much excess liquid as possible.  Chop roughly, season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
To make the tomato sauce, combine the oil, garlic, red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt in a cold saucepan.   Heat over medium-high, stirring frequently.  Once bubbling, cook for about 30 seconds.  Mix in the crushed tomatoes, reduce heat and let simmer 5-10 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice.
To make the cheese mixture, strain all of the liquid out of the cottage cheese.  (I used a fine mesh strainer and pressed down to remove the liquid.)  Mix in ½ cup of the Parmesan, 1½ cups of the mozzarella, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper.
Preheat the oven to 375˚ F.  To assemble the lasagna, add a thin layer of the sauce to the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.  Cover with a layer of noodles, then half of the cheese mixture, half of the kale, and half of the remaining sauce.  Add another layer of noodles, the remaining cheese mixture, and the remaining kale.  Top with the remaining noodles, then the remaining sauce.  Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup mozzarella cheese and ¼ cup Parmesan.
Bake for 45 minutes, until bubbly and browned.  Let stand at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving
Source:  Annie's Eats - originally from A Couple Cooks

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