Kale, Spinach, Swiss Chard Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe

Lasagna, one of our favorites of all things layered (from terrines of Fois Gras to Tiramisu) can be an incredibly healthy meal. We have been playing with recipes for awhile and finally created a favorite. We recently invited a guest to share a vegetarian version of the classic. We pulled alot of the ingredients out of our backyard (the veggies, herbs, sauce, and eggs).

Here is the list of our ingredients:

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Marinara (1 to 1 1/2 Quarts).
Fresh Kale
Fresh Spinach
Fresh Swiss Chard
Home made Ricotta cheese, we used the recipe in Sunset Magazines  "One Block Feast""
1.5 cups Cheddar cheese
1.5 cups Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan
1-2 Eggs
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried thyme
9 Lasagna noodles (3 per layer)

Now, here is how you do it:

Pre-Heat the oven to 375 degrees and get a piece of foil large enough to seal your baking dish.

For a 9X13" baking dish you will need perfectly cooked lasagna noodles. If you use fresh noodles the same applies, cook them, then cool them and toss with EVOO (extra virgin olive oil).

Mix 1 (or 2 if you want it more firm) egg with 3 cups of ricotta cheese, the herbs, salt and pepper to taste. You may want to thin it with whole milk or heavy cream. We like ours to be thick.

Now mix the Cheddar and Mozzarella cheeses and reserve. The parmesan is to be dusted in with the cheese to your liking; too much will make the dish too salty so beware.

Now we layer layer layer.

Start with marinara. Then layer 3 lasagna noodles. Top the noodles with the ricotta and then the other cheeses. Then layer the Kale, Spinach and Swiss Chard.

Cover this with sauce and repeat.

The last layer of lasagna noodles goes down and is simply covered with marinara and topped with the shredded cheeses. In other words, use the home made ricotta for the inside 2 layers.

Wrap tightly with the foil and place on center rack of your preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and broil at 375 degrees until the cheese starts to caramelize.

Salt, Pepper and Parmesan the top.

Let stand 5 minutes, then serve with warm homemade bread and homemade butter.

This is how much Kale, Spinach, and Swiss Chard we used, but I would recommend a little more.

We are linking with with The garden of Eden's Thursday's Kitchen Cupboard, so check out other recipes from the week.