Tasty and Meatless - Recipe - Rice Paper Lasagna with Kale

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
8 oz mushroom, chopped (assorted)
1/2 teaspoon fennel
1/2 teaspoon thyme, dried
1/2 teaspoon oregano, dried
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 cups daikon, grated
1 bunch kale
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 pack rice paper spring roll wrappers (10 inch)
6 won bok leaves
1/2 cup marinara sauce
Fresh basil

Sauté the onion in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil on medium heat untill golden brown. Add the mushrooms and cook till brown. Add herbs and garlic, cook one minute more, then add 1/2 cup water. Add pecans, tomato sauce and daikon. Contine cooking untill most of moisture is evaporated, then remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, prepare the kale. Wash it and blanch it (add it to a pot of boiling water for two minutes, until the kale softens). Drain the kale and run cold water over it until it cools. Squeeze the water out of the kale and chop into bite sized pieces. Note that you can now freeze extra kale and use it later in recipes. The nutrition will be maintained and the kale will be ready any time you want to cook with it. Now add the blanched and squeezed kale to the vegetable mixture and season with salt and pepper. Since there is no cheese in this recipe, it is important to make the vegetable mixture more salty than you like to replace the salty cheese taste.

This lasagna is steamed instead of baked. You must have a steamer with a flat bottom and a bowl of water to soften the rice paper sheets. Begin the lasagna layers by lining the bottom of the steamer with three won bok leaves to prevent the rice paper from sticking. Dunk two sheets of rice paper in water together and lay them on top of the leaves. Spread about 1/4 cup of the vegetable mixture over the rice wrappers. Dunk another two sheets of rice paper wrapper in the water and lay on top of the vegetable mixture. Repeat the layers, finishing with a top layer of rice paper wrappers. Brush the top layer with a little olive oil and top with three won bok leaves to prevent sticking to the cover of the steamer. Steam for about 10 minutes. Flip the steamer over on to a plate to remove the lasagna from the steamer. When cool, slice in to pieces. Top each piece with a spoonful of marinara sauce and fresh basil.