Spicy Kale Lasagna

This recipe was supposed to be pesto lasagna.  Only I bought the ingredients for the wrong recipe.  Or at least half of the ingredients.  So we're going off script here.  Not exactly kale, but definitely not pesto.

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 (or ricotta)
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided (or a whole mozzarella ball)
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.

Or, if you failed to buy kale, simply take the raw spinach you have in your fridge and use that.  No need to boil.  Use it raw.  Really.

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. Or, use ricotta.  I can't stand cottage cheese!  Mix in ½ cup of the Parmesan, 1½ cups of the mozzarella (torn into pieces, if you're using the ball), 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 (or chunks of the mozzarella ball) and ¼ cup Parmesan. Bake for 45 minutes, until bubbly and browned. Let stand at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

 

VERDICT

Clearly my direction following skills are lacking.  That should be obvious to anyone who reads this blog with any regularity!

But although this recipe was destined to fail.... it was delicious!  It had enough cheesy, spinachy goodness to please my meaty-lasagna-loving husband.  So it's a keeper.  Who would have thought?