Lighten up with a this noodle-free veggie lasagna

Ever feel like your diet reflects your week? Mine totally did this week. I got SWAMPED at work. I think I worked a good 70 hours :( which means that I ate pizza two nights this week, take-out Chinese food one night, and I'm pretty sure I ate a bag of popcorn and a block of cheese for dinner Thursday night.

So it's Sunday night and FINALLY I'm done working and running around...until tomorrow morning when I have to wake up to teach a 6AM spin class, and leave at 7:30AM for an impromptu shoot outside of Chicago -- so I decided to do myself a favor. Instead of making the strip steak that I had planned for, I grabbed this Martha Stewart recipe for escarole, kale, white bean, and tomato lasagna.

This recipe gets an A. You should try it, especially if you're trying to lighten up your dinners.

TRT: approximately 2 hours with cutting all of the veggies, so good for a weekend dinner, unless you've got that kind of time during the week...(i secretly hate you if you do)

There was a note with this recipe: To ensure that your lasagna isn't too water, the greens should be dry before layering. So let all of the water cook out of the greens, and if there's still water in the pan, blot the leaves with a paper towel to get rid of excess moisture.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/4 pounds cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
• 7 cloves garlic
• Coarse salt
• 1 large bunch kale (about 1 1/2 pounds), stems and center ribs discarded, roughly chopped
• 1 large head escarole (1 to 1 1/2 pounds), trimmed and roughly chopped
• 2 cans (15 ounces each) cannellini beans, 1/4 cup bean liquid reserved and beans drained
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
• 1 can (28 ounces) whole plum tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 6 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (2 3/4 cup)

Heat  1 t. oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add half the mushrooms and sauté, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden brown and tender, about 8 minutes. Remove the mushrooms from heat, and then repeat with 1 more t. of oil and the rest of the mushrooms.

Chop 6 garlic cloves. Heat 1 t. oil over medium heat in a large saute pan or skillet. Add garlic and 1/2 t. salt, and cook 1 minute (do not let brown). Raise heat to medium high and add 1/2 c. water. Add 2/3 of the kale, cover, and cook until wilted, 1 minute. Add remaining kale and cook until wilted. Stir in escarole and add water if pan is dry (I didn't need to add any extra water to my pan). Cover and cook until greens are wilted and tender, 4 minutes. Remove lid and cook, stirring frequently, until liquid evaporates. 

Preheat over to 375 and coat bottom of 9x13 inch dish with 1 t. oil. Place beans in a food processor and grate the remaining garlic clove over the beans. Puree 1 minute. Add reserved bean liquid and puree again 1 minute. Add oregano and pulse until just combined. 

Coarsely chop tomatoes, reserving juices. Combine tomatoes and juices with red pepper flakes, and spread 1/3 on bottom of baking dish. Top with half the greens. Spread half the bean puree over the greens and sprinkle with a third of the cheese. Scatter evenly with 3/4 of mushrooms. Continue layering with 1/3 of tomatoes, remaining greens, and 1/3 of cheese. Dot top with spoonfuls of remaining bean puree, using the back of the spoon to flatten the mounds. 

Layer with remaining mushrooms, tomatoes, and cheese. Cover with foil, being careful not to let foil touch surface, and bake until bubbling around edges and hot but  not bubbling in center, 30-35 minutes. 

Turn on broiler. Transfer lasagna to broiler, and cook until top just turns golden brown, 1-2 minutes. Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving. 

My poor little kitchen assistant wasn't able to have any scraps...she's had a bad tummy today :(

Nutrition Deets:

Per serving

279 calories

4 g. saturated fat

5 g. unsaturated fat

16 mg cholesterol

35 g carbohydrates

645 mg sodium

19 g. protein

12 g. fiber