Swiss Chard & Italian Sausage Lasagna - cooking recipe

Ingredients

Filling
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
Bechamel
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 9 sheets cooked regular lasagna noodles or 9 sheets no-boil lasagna noodles

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Make the filling: heat oil in a large saute pan over med-high heat.
Add sausage, crumble and cook til golden, 6 minutes.
Transfer to paper-towel lined plate.
Reduce heat to medium, add shallots to pan with drippings still in pan, cook til translucent, about 4 minutes.
Add chard and cook, til starts to wilt, 2 minutes.
Add garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper, cook 3 more minutes.
Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat.
Make bechamel: Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat.
Add onion, salt, red-pepper flakes, cook and stir occasionally for 5 minutes.
Stir in flour and cook til a little golden, 2 minutes.
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.
Butter 9x13 pan.
Spread about 1/2 cup of bechamel on bottom of plan.
Put one layer of lasagna noodles.
Top with half of the chard mixture.
Then top with half of sausage mixture.
Then 1/3 of shredded cheese.
Then another 1/2-1 cup of the bechamel.
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.
Finish with a last layer of lasagna noodles, pour the rest of the bechamel sauce over and top with remainder of shredded fontina cheese.
Sprinkle sparingly another 1/2 cup of parmesan over top.
Bake until golden browned and bubbly, about 30-35 minutes.
Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.