What's For Dinner?

Sausage, Chard, & Lemon Lasagna

Happy Monday everyone!  Sometimes I just love the start of a new week don't you?  I love waking up and reading all the blogs, happy that everyone is back to inspiring others after a couple days off.  This weekend, while staying inside and hiding from the rain, I did a little cooking. 
I made this dish (it's Martha's recipe) and it was pretty good, but not the best thing ever.  A lot of the comments on this recipe said the lemon in it tasted too strong, like a cleaning product, so I purposefully got an organic lemon to cut down on the chemically taste.  But I agreed, it was just too lemony.  So I picked them out and it was perfect, just a hint of citrus to offset the other flavors.  I plan on making this again in the future, but instead of including the lemon slices, I will try one of my favorite tricks I learned over on 101 Cookbooks.  The trick is this- when making a casserole of any kind, grate a little lemon zest on the bottom of your dish.  I did this with regular meat lasagna and it was genius, it brightened the flavor a lot without being being obvious.  I think with just one small change this Sausage, Chard, & Lemon Lasagna will be a winner!

Recipe after the break.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 cups whole milk

1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 4 ounces)

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

5 cups coarsely chopped Swiss chard (about 1 bunch)

1 pound sweet italian sausage, casings removed

1 lemon, very thinly sliced
6 no-boil lasagna noodles, preferably Barilla

Melt butter in a saucepan over high heat. Stir in flour; cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat. Simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Whisk in 3/4 cup cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir in chard.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook sausage in a skillet over high heat, breaking up pieces, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

Cover lemon slices with cold water by 3 inches in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 7 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate using a slotted spoon.

Spread 1/4 cup sauce in an 8-inch square nonreactive baking dish. Top with 2 noodles, half the sausage, and 1 cup sauce. Repeat. Top with a layer of lemons, 2 noodles, then remaining sauce and lemons. Bake, covered with parchment-lined foil, for 27 minutes.
Remove from oven. Heat broiler. Uncover lasagna; top with remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Broil until bubbling, 2 to 3 minutes.