Swiss Chard & Italian Sausage Lasagna

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 35 mins

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/4 lbs sweet italian sausage, removed from casings
• 3 whole shallots, peeled and sliced
• 3 lbs swiss chard, i used 3 bunches
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 1/2 cups milk (i used nonfat and it works great)
• 12 ounces fontina
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 6 fresh lasagna sheets or 9 sheets cooked regular lasagna noodles or 9 sheets no-boil lasagna noodles

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• 2 make the filling: heat oil in a large saute pan over med-high heat.
• 3 add sausage, crumble and cook til golden, 6 minutes.
• 4 transfer to paper-towel lined plate.
• 5 reduce heat to medium, add shallots to pan with drippings still in pan, cook til translucent, about 4 minutes.
• 6 add chard and cook, til starts to wilt, 2 minutes.
• 7 add garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper, cook 3 more minutes.
• 8 stir in lemon juice and remove from heat.
• 9 make bechamel: melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat.
• 10 add onion, salt, red-pepper flakes, cook and stir occasionally for 5 minutes.
• 11 stir in flour and cook til a little golden, 2 minutes.
• 12 whisk in milk and simmer on medium for about 6-10 minutes til thickened, til it nicely coats back of spoon. remove from heat, stir in 1/2 cup of shredded fontina cheese.
• 13 butter 9x13 pan.
• 14 spread about 1/2 cup of bechamel on bottom of plan.
• 15 put one layer of lasagna noodles.
• 16 top with half of the chard mixture.
• 17 then top with half of sausage mixture.
• 18 then 1/3 of shredded cheese.
• 19 then another 1/2-1 cup of the bechamel.
• 20 repeat with another layer of noodles, the rest of the chard, the rest of the sausage, another 1/3 portion of the cheese and more bechamel.
• 21 finish with a last layer of lasagna noodles, pour the rest of the bechamel sauce over and top with remainder of shredded fontina cheese.
• 22 sprinkle sparingly another 1/2 cup of parmesan over top.
• 23 bake until golden browned and bubbly, about 30-35 minutes.
• 24 let cool for 10 minutes before serving.