Vegetarian Lasagna with Kale and Mushroom-Tomato Sauce

Directions

Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy frying pan over medium heat; add onions and saute until they start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the chopped garlic, chopped mushrooms, ground fennel, and dried basil and saute about 5 minutes more, or until the mushrooms lose their water and the liquid has evaporated. Add the vegetarian marinara sauce and water and turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. While the sauce simmers, bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil to blanch the kale. Chop the kale and wash if needed. Add the chopped kale to the boiling salted water and cook 3 minutes, then pour into a colander placed in the sink. Let the kale drain well and cool at least 5 minutes. While kale is cooling, mix together the cottage cheese, beaten eggs, and finely grated Parmesan. Add cooled kale and stir together. Spray a 9 inch X 12 inch lasagna dish with nonstick spray. Lay 3 uncooked lasagna noodles across the dish. Cover with 1/2 the mushroom tomato sauce, spreading it across the noodles so they’re all covered with sauce. Then add 1/2 the cottage cheese and kale mixture, spreading it out with a rubber scraper, and sprinkle over 1 cup of the grated low-fat Mozzarella. Make a second layer of lasagna noodles, tomato-mushroom sauce, cottage cheese and kale mixture, and cheese. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake 50-60 minutes without removing the foil. Take the dish out of the oven and remove foil. Cook 25-30 minutes more with foil removed, or until the lasagna noodles are soft, and the lasagna is bubbling and lightly browned on top. Let lasagna cool 5-10 minutes before cutting; then cut into pieces and serve hot.