kale and goat cheese lasagna

  this recipe is from the december (or january) issue of vegetarian times, but i altered it to actually (or closely) reflect what i did.  this is awesome.

1-2 tsp of olive oil
a  bunch of kale, stems removed (i got the flattest leaf kale they had at WF, thnking it'd be easier to cut out the stem.)
15oz. part skim Ricotta Cheese
5 to 6 oz soft Goat Cheese (it came in an 11 oz tube at WF, for about $6.  i used less than half the tube.)
a tsp of garlic - i buy the already minced jars.
2 to 3 (ish) Cups Tomato Puree (i got a 24 oz milk-type container of "strained roma tomatoes" from WF.  it was about $5 and had only tomatoes in it, no salt.)
SALT, this i didn't measure, i just added to taste.
1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
9 lasagna noodles, cooked (which i had to cut to fit in my pan)
Parm Cheese

This is the order that i did everything:
1. Heat olive oil in small sauce pan over med-low heat. Add garlic and cook for about 15-30 seconds only until fragrant. Add tomato puree and red pepper flakes. I added basil and oregano and what seemed like a lot of salt to get it to taste right.  It was a bit tangy but ended up being really good.  i turned it to low and covered it. 

2. i got a large pot of water to boiling... i cooked the noodles in salted water.  while the water was getting hot and the noodles were boiling, i washed and stemed my kale leaves.  

3. when the noodles were done, i put the kale leaves IN THAT WATER.  waste not!  they cooked for about 2 to 3 minutes and i stirred (more like folded) them a lot.  When they were done, i put them in a strainer and rinsed them with cold water until they were cool.  i squeezed out the kale, and moved them to a large cutting board and coarsely chopped them.


4. at this point, i started to preheat  the oven to 400.

5. i put the ricotta & goat cheese together in a bowl and mashed them together with my hands.  then i licked my fingers because i LOVE goat cheese.  :)

6. i put 1/4 cup of tomato sauce in the lasagna dish, just enough to barely cover the bottom. This is when i figured out that i had to trim my noodles...  i Layered three noodles on top of the tomato sauce (and then had to take them out to trim), i put 1/3 of the cheese on thop of that and spread it out with my fingers (and then licked them), then sprinkled 1/3 of the kale mixture, then about 1/4 of the remaining tomato sauce, 1/2 of the cheese, 1/2 of the kale, 1/3 of the tomato sauce, 3 noodles, all the cheese, all the kale, and the rest of the tomato sauce.  you know, the normal way to make lasagna.   on top of all that, i heavily sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.   i did not cover and put it directly in the oven for about 30min. until it was bubbly.  


it cooled for about 30 minutes before i had time to eat any of it.  WOW, it knocked me off my feet.  the red pepper was spicy and the goat cheese and tomato sauce were tangy.  i thought the kale would be more earthy and i suppose that is the only thing i am disappointed in.  maybe next time i'll throw in some collard greens! (haha) really, though, it is delicious!  i'm eating it right now for lunch!