Lasagnas are a labor of love, especially when you do them right. When I take the time to make one of these, especially when it’s entirely from scratch, I double the recipe and freeze another one, just because they take so much time and effort. And then, on days when NEPA misses breaking the record for coldest day ever by one degree, and I’ve spent the day before with a wicked stomach bug that made me feel like I was dying, barely slept because of it, woke up at 2.45am for a 4am taping of morning show (with Ryan Leckey, who, admittedly, I love) at the hospital, then coordinated five more interviews – one of which includes scrubbing up (?? in? what’s it called when you just observe) with a reporter and photographer for a VERY graphic, and incredibly advanced, knee replacement surgery – and am now waiting to connect the final interview of the day so I can just take a freaking nap already, do you know what I do? I take that second lasagna out of the freezer and start letting that beautiful thing defrost. This is homemade with love right here – my Mom’s meatsauce, noodles from scratch, a nutmeg-y bechamel, some kale and fresh parm…dinner’s going to be the best part of this day.
LASAGNA WITH KALE AND BECHAMEL (Makes one 9.5 x 11 inch delicious pan of lasagna)
- Lasagna Noodles (Just go for it and make these yourself. They make this so much better.)
- 4 cups meatsauce (I blended my mom’s spaghetti sauce and meatballs)
- 2 cups frozen kale, thawed and drained really well
- 2 cups shredded parmesan
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
Bechamel Sauce:
- 5 tbsp. butter
- 4 tbsp. flour
- 4 C. milk
- 1 tsp. nutmeg
Make the noodles. If you’re making them yourself, make the dough and, when ready, roll out the noodles to the second thinnest setting. Then, Just cut that into three pieces that look like noodles. Lay out to dry a bit.
Make the bechamel sauce. In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When golden, add the flour little by little, whisking constantly. You want this to get golden brown, and begin to smell faintly nutty – this is the perfect stage.
Add milk to the pan little by little, whisking constantly. The mixture will thicken. When it does, set aside. Get everything else ready.
Put a thin layer of meat sauce on the bottom of the pan, then top with your first layer of noodles.
Next, spread a layer of bechamel on top of the noodles, then top with some of the kale. Add another layer of noodles.
On top of those noodles, add another layer of meat sauce and a combination of some of both the cheeses.
Continue this sequence, making sure you end with the layer above.
Cover with foil and bake at 425 for about 30-40 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese on top is golden and melted.
Let sit, cut into squares and enjoy. We housed this.
