Lasagna with Swiss chard

I came *this* close to using up all of the no-boil lasagna noodles I had while making this lasagna with Swiss chard, tomato sauce and ricotta but still managed to have a few sheets left. Argh!

Nonetheless, it turned out to be a nice, lighter lasagna (no mozzarella), similar to the spinach lasagna I made a while ago.



I did a few things differently than the original recipe. I didn't blanch the Swiss chard and instead sauteed it in a little olive oil. I had to do this in two batches because my pan wasn't big enough. I set this aside to make the tomato sauce.


I used the chard stalks (the original recipe does not), chopping them up and sauteing them. After they had softened a bit, I added minced garlic, dried basil and oregano. Then I added a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes along with some salt and pepper, and let this simmer for a bit before adding the Swiss chard leaves and some sugar. I think this would be quite delicious as a meal itself, on top of some pasta. But I'm going to keep going...


Assembly: I started with a little sauce, a couple of the no-boil sheets, about 1/3 cup of ricotta, then a generous amount of sauce and a sprinkling of some grated pecorino (I didn't have any parmigiano).


I managed to repeat this process two more times, ending with the remainder of the sauce and some more pecorino.


Covered with foil, then into a preheated 375 degree oven. I eventually had to add a pan on the bottom rack because the lasagna was bubbling up and spilling over. After 30 minutes, I uncovered the dish, turned off the heat and left it in the oven for about 5 minutes.


The longer it sits, the better lasagna seems to meld together, making it much easier to cut and serve. But I was impatient - I mean, look at that thing! It looks so delicious!


Since I couldn't wait any longer, my slice of lasagna looks a little deformed. It was so good though. Without any mozzarella, this was a very tomato-sauce heavy lasagna, which I didn't mind. The Swiss chard kind of melted into the sauce, and the chopped-up stalks added a nice crunchy contrast to the soft noodles and ricotta. It was a little time-consuming to make, having to prep the chard and sauce, but I think if I have some universal tomato sauce around, it might be easier to handle on a weeknight.

Pantry purge: a can of crushed tomatoes, some no-boil noodles
Minus points: I now have about a cup of ricotta left to use, and several more meals of leftover lasagna. Grr.
Calorie count: about 250 calories per serving, 6 servings