Spicy Kale Lasagna - Everyday Annie

I don’t play around much with lasagna recipes. I have a classic version that I love and I tend to stick to that. Normally I am not even tempted to stray, but when I saw this new recipe for a kale lasagna on my friends’ blog, I couldn’t wait to try it. For one thing, it is vegetarian. I’m not planning on going veggie anytime soon, but I like to incorporate as many meatless meals as possible into our menus and am always happy to add a new one to the list. Also, this uses kale which is available year round. I’m not a strictly seasonal eater but I do my best so I was happy to make something featuring this hearty winter green.

We really enjoyed this lasagna. I originally considered halving the recipe, but I also knew I was not likely use up the rest of the kale that week, so I made the full pan. It ended up feeding us for multiple lunches and dinners, and I still wasn’t sick of it by the time we had finished it all. There are multiple steps in this recipe to help remove excess liquid from the cheese, kale, etc. but despite all this the lasagna was still just a bit liquidy when it was fresh from the oven. I let it rest a while but maybe I was just impatient, I’m not sure. However, after resting in the refrigerator it really set up and absorbed all the liquid and the leftovers weren’t runny at all. Also, for fellow cottage cheese-phobes out there, don’t be scared. This really doesn’t taste like cottage cheese, just creamy and cheesy. I think this could also be great with more vegetables added in and next time I may experiment with that a bit. There will definitely be a next time.

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

01
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.
02
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.
03
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.
04
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.
05
Bake for 45 minutes, until bubbly and browned. Let stand at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.