Chicken Lasagne Recipe
Serves 8 to 10 people
Ingredients:
Sauce:
565g Minced chicken
1/4 cup Olive oil; pure
1 1/3 cup Onions; coarsley chopped
1 tb Oregano; heaping
1 1/2 tsp Garlic; finely minced
1 1/2 tsp Basil
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black pepper
1/4 tsp Red pepper flakes
1 cup Dry white wine; (plus 3 Tablespoons)
3 1/4 cup Tomatoes; crushed in puree
150g Frozen spinach; thawed, -squeeze dry of all liquid
Cheese:
3 cups Mozzarella cheese; grated
1/2 cup Feta cheese; crumbled
Bechamel:
1 1/2 cup Milk
1 cup Cream
1 pinch white pepper
1 pinch thyme
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch basil
3 tb Butter
1/3 cup Flour, plus 1 tb Flour
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese; grated, plus 1 tb
3 tb Romano cheese; grated
Uncooked fresh lasagne – layers in a 9-inch by 13-inch pan
1/4 cup Unseasoned bread crumbs
2 tb Parmesan cheese; freshly -grated
1 tsp Parsley; very finely chopped
Several things set this version apart from the dozens of other lasagne recipes. Its sauce is strongly seasoned with oregano. It calls for a thick filling of bechamel instead of ricotta cheese. It uses feta cheese to step up the flavor of the
dish. And it takes advantage of fresh lasagne, which can go into the dish with no precooking.
PREPARE-AHEAD/SERVING NOTES:
Make a day ahead and bake when needed, or do as we do and freeze. Take the lasagne straight from the freezer to the oven and adjust the cooking time accordingly.
CAUTION:
Be sure to let the lasagne sit 20 minutes before serving.
ESSENTIAL GEAR:
Shallow baking pan (9 x 13 inches / 22 x 33 cm)
To make sauce, cook chicken mince in a saute pan over medium heat until pink is gone and meat is crumbly. Remove from heat and pour chicken through a colander to drain off all fat. Reserve chicken. (Be certain it is well-crumbled. If it is not, break it up using a potato masher or large wooden spoon.)
In the same saucepan, heat olive oil and add onions, oregano, garlic, basil, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Cook over medium heat until onions are translucent. Add wine, bring to a boil, and cook until alcohol has evaporated – about 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes. Add spinach and reserved chicken. Continue simmering for a few minutes. Remove from heat and reserve. Mix together mozzarella and feta cheeses and set aside.
To make bechamel, heat milk, cream, white pepper, thyme, nutmeg, and basil in a small saucepan until it nears a boil. Turn off heat. Melt butter in a medium-size saute pan. When foam from butter recedes, remove from heat, add
flour, and mix well. Return to medium-low heat and, stirring frequently, simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to cook, but not brown, the flour. Gradually stir in hot milk and cream mixture. Raise heat to medium-high and continue stinnng until mixture is smooth and thick–about 5 minutes. Add Parmesan and Romano cheeses and whisk until smooth. This should be the texture of wallpaper paste, not of the white sauce more often associated with bechamel.
To make topping, mix together bread crumbs, Parmesan, and parsley. Reserve.
TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE:
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Spread 2 tablespoons of the tomato juices left in the can of tomatoes on the bottom of a shallow baking dish. Lay in one layer of the uncooked lasagne noodles.
Spoon on 3 cups of the meat sauce. Spread 1 cup of bechamel across the sauce in two diagonals (no need to spread evenly at this point). Top with 2 cups of cheese mixture. Lay on another layer of lasagne noodles and repeat,
using the same amounts of sauce (be sure to get every dab of the meat sauce ~ there is no extra to spare), bechamel, and cheese. Top with last layer of noodles, and with fingertips, press lightly to distribute bechamel smoothly
in the layers. Using a long metal spatula, “frost” top layer of noodles with remaining bechamel. Be sure to completely cover noodles so that they do not dry out in baking. Sprinkle evenly with reserved bread crumb mixture.
Bake lasagne at 200 degrees Celsius for about 60 minutes or until sauce bubbles around the edge and top is nicely browned. If top browns too quickly, cover with aluminum during last 10 minutes of cooking. If baking the lasagne straight from the freezer, add about 20 minutes to cooking time. Once out of the oven, let lasagne set up for about 20 minutes before serving. (This is critical for ease of serving.)