Needless to say that with so much kale coming into our house, I had to get creative with what to do with it. So when I saw this recipe in a magazine, I knew I had to try it. Just because it called for kale.
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| I am incredibly talented at wrecking pretty lasagna layers when scooping. |
And, once again, I LOVE when I'm forced to try something new and the experiment totally pays off!
Four-Cheese Chicken Lasagna
Recipe slightly adapted from Food Network Magazine
Prep time: 30-40 minutes Cook time: 1 hour, 25 minutes Bake time: 1 hour, 5 minutes Rest time: 30 minutes
For the sauce:
2 tbsp EVOO
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup white wine
3 cups water
28 oz (one can or two 14oz cans) crushed tomatoes
3 bay leaves
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
For the lasagna:
2 bunches of fresh kale, stems removed and leaves finely chopped*
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 15oz containers cottage cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated asiago OR cheddar
1 lb lasagna noodles (whatever you prefer, whether it's the boil or no-boil kind)
*The fresh kale is AMAZING but this can be substituted with frozen. OR if kale really isn't your thing you can use spinach too, fresh or frozen. Using frozen greens would allow you to skip Step #5 altogether.
1. For the sauce: Heat the EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken thighs and cook until browned, turning once (about 5 minutes).
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| I used a combo of thighs and breasts for this actually. |
2. Add the onion, garlic, and tomato paste and cook, stirring, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and cook until mostly evaporated, about 5 minutes.
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| When dealing with only tablespoons, invest in a tube of tomato paste. Save your cans! |
3. Stir in the water, crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, parsley, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 50 minutes.
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| It's hard to get a clear shot when steam gets in my way. |
4. Remove the chicken thighs and shred. Return the shredded chicken to the pan and cook until thickened, about 20 more minutes. Remove the bay leaves.
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| You could chop this instead, but I love how shredded chicken soaks up more sauce. |
5. Optional Step (can be skipped if using frozen greens): While the sauce simmers, steam the chopped kale in the microwave until tender. Drain and rinse under cold water and squeeze dry.
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| I feel healthier just looking at this. |
6. Place the kale in a bowl, and stir in the eggs, cottage cheese, and half of the Parmesan and parsley. Add a little salt and pepper and stir to combine. Set aside.
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| Rule of thumb: don't like something? Just add cheese. |
7. In a medium bowl, combine the shredded mozzarella, shredded asiago, and remaining Parmesan. Set aside.
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| I was fully prepared to use Cheddar, but rejoiced when I found some pre-shredded Asiago. |
8. For the lasagna build: [NOTE: I used no-boil noodles, but if you can't find those, make sure your noodles are boiled, drained, and tossed with a teensy EVOO to prevent sticking before you build.] Preheat oven to 350.
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| My setup station! |
9. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce in a 9x13 baking dish. Top with one-third of the noodles. Cover with half of the kale mixture, then two more cups of sauce. Sprinkle with one-third of the mozzarella mixture. Repeat the layers (noodles, kale mixture, sauce, mozzarella mixture). Top with a final layer of noodles, the remaining sauce, and the remaining mozzarella mixture.
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| Sauce |
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| Layer Set 1: Noodles |
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| Layer Set 1: Kale |
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| Layer Set 1: Sauce |
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| Layer Set 1: Mozzarella. Repeat layer sets starting at Noodles a couple more times |
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| Finish with Parmesan |
10. Set on a baking sheet to help keep any bubbling drips from baking onto your oven. Loosely cover with foil and bake 40 minutes. Then uncover and bake until golden and bubbly, about 25 more minutes. Let stand 30 minutes before serving. Total time to allow in this step is 1 hour and 35 minutes!!
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| I'm fairly neurotic when it comes to labeling and details. |
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| I froze one and baked up one right away as a reward for my day's work. |
So by now if you weren't intimidated by the number of steps I listed, you probably just freaked out over the time necessary for that final step alone. But trust me when I tell you that this dish is WORTH IT. Totally, totally, totally worth the time and effort to prepare. To make this even more worth your while though, consider splitting this into two 8x8 or 9x9 dishes and freezing one after assembling it to bake up later. If your family can inhale a 9x13 pan of lasagna in one sitting, then definitely consider doubling, or even tripling this to have some spare pans in the freezer.
If I haven't made it obvious enough, I'm a big fan of making the most of what cooking time I have. That means if I'm going to spend the many minutes necessary to simmer a sauce and build a lasagna, then I want to eat it as often as possible! Investing an extra 10-15 minutes to build a second pan is worth the hours I'll save in the long run.
Still don't believe that this meal is worth the time? Let me just leave with an idea of the taste. This dish is delightly cheesy, thanks to the variety of cheeses used. The sauce has that tangy, tomato-y zing to it, but with the lightness that comes with using chicken instead of ground beef. And the kale adds this healthful aspect, but without any bitter taste, that made me want to stand up and do a happy dance. I loved this so much that on my next "Stock the Freezer with Lasagna" Day, I fully plan on doing a double batch of this, along with my usual beef lasagna, so I've got some happy, healthy options for those busy days to come!
