I dipped into a little bit of a funk this week, maybe a combination
of too much news watching and too little sunshine and warmth
up here in the northlands of Minnesota! So, sometimes we need to
create our own “sunshine” and for me that is cooking or baking something
new! Thanks to an email I received from my daughter Michele, I did
not have to look to far for a new recipe! Michele reads the blog A Cup of Jo at
joannagoddard.blogspot.com, which is adorable, and her latest post
featured a sausage, chard, and lemon lasagna recipe from Martha Stewart Living!
I never knew you could eat lemon rind, much less put it in lasagna, but
it was amazing. You slice the lemon really thin, put the slices in a pan of
water and bring to a boil, then simmer for 7 minutes. Next time I will
cook 2 lemons, because I devoured most of the slices before putting together
the lasagna! This is my adapted version of the recipe:
Sausage, rainbow chard, and lemon lasagna - serves 4
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk
2-3 cups grated gruyere cheese (even more if desired!)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 bunches rainbow Swiss chard
12 oz. chicken sausage (can be flavored with sun-dried tomatoes)
1 lemon, sliced thin
1/2 pkg. no-boil lasagna noodles (love Archer Farm’s whole wheat
from Target)
Melt butter in a saucepan over med. high heat. Stir in flour, reduce
heat and cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk, increase heat and bring
to a boil while stirring. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and add 1 cup of cheese, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp.
pepper. Add chard, which has been cut into strips (stems included!)
and rinsed in a colander. (Don’t be afraid of greens like I used to be -
I grew up with the image of greens cooked for hours with a ham
hock, whatever that is, but now I love all greens and they only need
to be cooked until tender!)
Put lemon slices in a saucepan and cover with 3 inches of water.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 7 minutes. Using
a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel.
Remove sausage from casing and pinch into pieces and cook over
med. high heat in a skillet until browned, about 4-5 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8 inch square glass baking
dish (or something comparable) and spread 1/2 cup sauce onto
bottom of pan. Top with 2 uncooked lasagna noodles, then half
of the sausage, 1 cup of the chard sauce and 1 cup of the gruyere.
Repeat noodles, remainder of sausage, 1 cup of sauce, gruyere, then
top with half of the lemons. Repeat 2 noodles, remainder of sauce,
gruyere and top with remainder of lemons! Cover with foil and
bake for 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake additional 10 minutes.
Turn on the broiler and let the top brown, about 2 minutes. Keep
an eye on this part! Remove and serve with a green salad, or do as
we do and eat a big piece of 
lasagna with a glass of red wine and
follow with a piece of dessert! Double yum!!
