09 10 / 2011
Stuffed Kale Casserole with Goat Cheese Marinara Sauce
Drawing from this recipe as inspiration, here’s a tasty kale casserole:
The Stuffing
I modified the original recipe quite a bit to fit what I had laying around. This is more of an Italian rice + chicken stuffing than the quinoa in the original recipe, but it works well. Here’s what I used:
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- half a Pablano pepper
- half a Red pepper
- 1 Carrot
- half a Red Onion
- 1/2 cup Arborio Rice
- 1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp Dried Thyme
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 cup water
Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan on medium high heat and add the rice dry. Fry the rice until the edges are brown, then add the rest of the ingredients finely diced. Add the water and cover until the rice is fully cooked.
The Kale
Blanche the kale according to the recipe above. This turns the kale from a rough, dark green leaf into a malleable beautiful green wrapping:
The Sauce
I love goat cheese in tomato sauce, so instead of a simple marinara, I combined a can of fire roasted tomatoes with a bit of goat cheese and warmed over medium heat.
Roll and Bake
Add a spoonful of the stuffing to each kale leaf and roll. Add to a casserole dish and cover with the sauce. Heat in an oven at 350F for about 45 minutes and then serve immediately. The end result is a great, leafy-green tasting casserole with a deep tomato flavor. Enjoy!
