Adapted from Asbell, R. “One food five ways: Kale“. Vegetarian Times. (January/February 2011). Issue 382, Vol. 37, No. 2. p 79.

My Comments: In college, I was known as the person who knew how to make lasagna — when we got together with friends, that was the dish I always made for our group dinners. In those days, the lasagna was full of ground beef, pork, sausages and the cheeses were made of whole milk.  While I still keep the structure of that particular stand-by recipe, I’ve adapted it to our current eating habits: usually filled with spinach and less cheese! Still good.

I’m always on the look out for some new twist to a familiar dish so when I spotted this recipe in Vegetarian Times, I knew immediately that we were going to give it a try.  I don’t economize when using canned tomato products – not a big fan of the stem or blossom ends thrown into the chopped tomatoes.  I usually try to use Muir Glen – worth the extra money.

Ingredients

1 tsp oil oil (plus oil or spray for the pan)
1 8-0z bunch of kale, stems removed (Whole Foods makes a good frozen Kale which is what I used here)
1 15-0z pkg. fat free ricotta cheese
4 oz chevre or soft goat cheese, softened
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups prepared tomato puree (Muir Glen recommended)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
6 no-cook lasagna noodles (or do it the hard way: use 6 regular noodles and cook them)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Coat 8-inch square baking pan (I used an enamel oval baker – no big deal) with oil.

2. IF YOU USE THE FROZEN KALE YOU CAN SKIP THIS PART:. Cook kale in large pot of boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool enough to handle. Thoroughly wring out kale, then chop. Season with salt and pepper if desired, set aside.

IF USING FROZEN KALE:  thaw the kale in a strainer under cold water. Squeeze it dry, toss it in a bowl with salt and pepper if desired.

3. Mash together the ricotta and chevre in bowl. Set aside.

4. Heat 1 tsp oil in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic, and cook for 15 seconds or until fragrant. Add tomato puree and red pepper flakes; simmer 5 minutes or until thickened.

5.  Assemble:  Spread about 1/4 cup sauce in prepared baking dish. Place 2 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce. Top with half of the cheese mixture, half of the Kale, and 1/3 cup sauce. Top with 2 more noodles, remaining cheese, and remaining kale. Top with the remaining 2 noodles and cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake 40 minutes or until cheese has melted and lasagna is bubbly.

Serves 8. Weight Watcher points = 5.