Kale, Chard and Mushroom Whole Wheat Tomato-Less Lasagna

Lasagna is really time-consuming, requires a bunch of ingredients, and can cause a fair amount of stress during preparation.  But going through the process always leads to wonderful wonderful things, as well as a fridge full of fantastic leftovers.  In my fridge, I had a ton of red chard, lacinato kale, and a pesky fennel bulb that would wouldn't disappear.  I've never been a fan of the anise seed/licorice flavor, and my CSA box buddy was not a huge fan of eating the fennel raw, so I wanted to find a way to use this ingredient as a nice accent for an already tasty meal.  It worked great in this dish, and I even could have used more fennel flavor.  The prep stage took about 1 hour total with 2 people working on it.

Adapted from here: http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/01/swiss_chard_lasagna_with_ricotta_and_mushrooms

Ingredients

For the Béchamel

3 cups 2% milk
6 tbsp unsalted butter
5 tbsp all purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves

For the Veggies

2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 large bunch red chard, stems removed and coarsely chopped
1 large bunch lacinato kale, stems removed and coarsely chopped
1 fennel bulb, finely chopped
20 oz. baby bella mushrooms, rinsed and sliced
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp salt

For the Ricotta Mixture

1 15 oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup 2% milk
2 oz. fontina cheese, grated

For the Lasagna

9-10 whole wheat lasagna noodles
5 oz. fontina cheese, coarsely grated
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Method

For the Béchamel

1.  Melt the butter in a medium saucepan at medium heat and whisk in the flour until incorporated but not browned.

2.  Slowly add in the milk and whisk occasionally.

3.  Add the salt, nutmeg, and cloves.

4.  Simmer the sauce until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.

For the Veggies

1.  Heat olive oil in a large wok at medium high heat.

2.  Add the onion, crushed garlic, and crushed red pepper.

3.  After the onions become translucent, add the kale, chard, and fennel.

4.  After the greens are wilted, add the mushrooms and salt.  Cook until the mushrooms and greens are tender.

For the Ricotta Mixture

1.  Blend together the ricotta, egg, and milk in a medium-sized bowl.

2.  Mix in the fontina cheese.

For the Lasagna

1.  Boil salted water in a large covered saucepan.  Add lasagna noodles and cook for 9 minutes.  Drain noodles in a colander and rinse well with cold water.

2.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Brush a 13 x 9 pyrex dish with olive oil.

3.  Spread a few spoons of béchamel into a thin even layer at the bottom of the dish. Then place 3 noodles over the béchamel and be careful that the noodles don't overlap.

4. Add half of the veggies then half the ricotta cheese. Smooth down evenly using the back of a spoon. Then add 1/2 of the fontina cheese and 1/3 of the parmesan cheese. Pour 1/3 of the remaining béchamel over the top of the cheeses and smooth evenly with the back of a spoon.

5. Place 3 noodles on top of the layer and be careful that the noodles don't overlap.

6. Repeat step 4 using the rest of the veggies, ricotta, and fontina, as well as 1/3 of the parmesan, and 1/3 of the béchamel.

7. Use 3-4 noodles to cover the layer and be careful that the noodles don't overlap. You can rip or cut some noodles to make them fit nicely.

8. Pour remaining béchamel over the top and smooth down. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan over the top. Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil.

9. Bake the covered lasagna for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Then remove the foil and continue cooking for 25 more minutes.

10. After removing lasagna from oven, resist the urge to eat it immediately. It needs to rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.