Chicken and Vegetable White Lasagne
Tender juicy chicken, golden mushroom, sweet capsicum and delicious spinach in a delicious creamy, cheesy sauce, in layers of cooked pasta.
Equipment
- 1 large frypan
- 1 large lasagne dish approx. 23 x 33 cm / 9 x 13"
- 1 big bowl (3 litres at least)
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 kg/2.2 lbs chicken thigh fillets skinless/boneless kept whole
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
Mushrooms
- 20 grams/0.7 oz butter
- 300 grams/10.5 oz mushrooms sliced
Veggies
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced/crushed
- 1 red capsicum (bell pepper) diced
- 250g/8.8oz baby spinach
Sauce
- 60 grams/2.1 oz butter
- ¾ cup flour
- 1.5 litres whole milk
- 3 tbsp chicken stock powder continental
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp pepper fresh ground
- 100 grams/3.5oz parmesan cheese
Lasagne Ingredients
- 1 packet of fresh lasagne sheets 375g
- 400g/14 oz mozzarella shredded
Instructions
- Heat a frypan over medium heat. Salt and pepper the thigh fillets, then add to hot pan. Cook on both sides until just cooked through, then remove to a plate to cool.
- Add butter to the frypan, on high heat. As soon as it is melted add all of your mushrooms, and sauté then until they are a nice golden brown. This may take some time, as the mushroom will first release their liquid before bowing occurs. Once browned, remove from frypan into your big bowl.
- Add oil to frypan on med-high heat and then add the onions. We want to soften the onions but not brown them, after about 4 minutes, add the garlic. Let that cook for about 1 minute, then add in the red capsicum. Let that cook for about 3-4 minutes, then add the spinach. Cook the spinach down until it has all wilted. Add this vegetable mix to your mushroom in your big bowl.
- By now your chicken should be cool enough to handle. Cut it into small bite size pieces, and add to the vegetable bowl. Mix this bowl well, so everything is evenly dispersed. This mixture will be known now as "the filling"
- For the sauce, melt the butter in your large frypan. Add your flour and mix well with a whisk for about 1 minute. Then add all 1.5 litres of COLD milk to the pan, in 1 go, stirring well to prevent lumps. Stir til thickened. Add spices, chicken stock powder and parmesan. Once this is thick and bubbling remove from heat.
- To start to assemble the lasagne, I take over the kitchen table, I set up all my ingredients around me in a half circle with the lasagne tray in the middle. You'll have the "filling", "the sauce", the cheese, the pasta and the lasagne tray. I also use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut up the fresh pasta into my desired size.
- At the bottom layer of the lasagne, smear a small amount of sauce, then add a layer of pasta sheets. I then add a layer of filling, then sauce, top with some of the cheese, then start again with the pasta sheets. Keep continuing the layers until you use all of your ingredients up. Make sure you save some cheese to put on the top layer, you want it to be golden and cheesy.
- Bake for 35 minutes (or until hot and bubbling and the cheese is a golden brown) at 180℃/355℉.
- Once removed from oven, let it sit for 15 minutes undisturbed before slicing and serving. This allows the lasagne time to settle and is less likely to collapse everywhere when serving.