4 Cheese & Kale Lasagna with Roasted Pepper Sauce

4 Cheese & Kale Lasagna with Roasted pepper Sauce


Prep Time:
Cook Time:

​Serves: 8 Slices

WHAT YOU NEED

• 2 x 500g Lasagna Noodles
• 1 Bunch Green Kale, stems removed & chopped
• 2 C Pizza Mozzarella, shredded
• Grana Padano - Garnish
• Fresh Parsley - Garnish

FILLING

• 475g Ricotta
• 500g Cottage Cheese
• ​1/2 C Pizza Mozz, shredded
• 1/4 C Grana Padano, grated
  
• 1/4 C Fresh parsley, chopped
  
• 20g Fresh basil, chopped
  
• 2 cloves Garlic, crushed & pressed / minced
  
• Zest of 1 Lemon
  
• 1 Tsp. Sea Salt
  
• ​2 Large Free-Range Eggs, beaten
  

SAUCE

• 2 Tbsp. EVOO
• 2 Tbsp. Chili Oil
• 1 Yellow Onion, chopped
  
• 2 stalks Celery, diced
  
• 1 Large Carrot, chopped
  
• 4 cloves Garlic, crushed
• 1 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
  
• 796ml Whole San Marzano Tomatoes
  
• 370ml Roasted Red Peppers + 1/4 C Pepper Liquid
  
• 28g Fresh Basil
  
• 1/2 Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
  
• 1/2 Tsp. + Sea Salt
  

DIRECTIONS

• FILLING - Drain excess liquid from cottage cheese / ricotta and add to a mixing bowl. Fold together every other ingredient except for the eggs and taste. Adjust salt if desired. Stir in eggs, cover, and refrigerate until needed.
• SAUCE - Begin heating the EVOO, chili oil, crushed garlic, and pepper flakes in a medium sized sauce pot set to medium heat. Once heated, let the garlic sizzle for a minute before adding in the onion, celery, carrot, and a good pinch of sea salt. Stir and cook for 5 - 7 minutes until veggies are almost tender. Stir in the tomato paste and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. Add the san marzano tomatoes & fill the can 3/4 of the way with cold water. Swish it around and add it to the pot along with the  peppers and pepper liquid.

• Once the sauce comes to a boil, add the basil including the stems and 1/2 tsp. sea salt. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree until smooth. Taste and adjust salt if desired.
• KALE - Heat a deep frying pan set to just below medium heat and add your washed and chopped kale. Drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle generously with sea salt. Cover and cook until kale has wilted and cooked down. Remove from heat and set aside. 
• NOODLES - In a 9 x 14 dish, you'll need approximately 9 noodles per layer which equates to just over one box. I suggest cooking 1 and a half boxes in case of sticking together or breaking during cooking. Cook the noodles until al dente, strain and lay out the noodles (overlapping is ok) so that they remain flat.
• PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 F
• Spray a 9 x 14 baking dish with cooking spray. Ladle sauce into the bottom of the dish and tilt the dish to coat the entire bottom. Lay your 8 noodles to form a bottom layer and cut one noodle in half to fill the gap at the edge of the pan. Spoon 1/3 of the filling over the noodles and spread it to coat the entire layer. Dollop sauce across the layer, spread 1/3 of the kale, and sprinkle with 1/3 c mozzarella. Repeat with another 2 layers finishing with a 4th layer of noodles. Ladle sauce over the entire top layer, spreading to coat it entirely. Reserve remaining sauce for service.
• Cover the lasagna and bake for one hour. Remove cover and sprinkle with remaining 1 C mozzarella and some grated grana padano. Return it to the oven and continue to bake for 15 - 20 minutes until cheese is melted. I suggest switching to BROIL 500F for a couple minutes for some golden browning action.
• Remove from oven and set on to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Cut into 8 equal sized slices. Serve each slice with reserved sauce, fresh parsley, and grana padano cheese. ENJOY!