Chicken Lasagna (Advanced)

Chicken Lasagna (Advanced)

Basic Sauce

3x 28oz cans of San Marzano tomatoes- drain and reserve juice (approximately 5 Cups). Seed and core if you don’t own a foodmill. leaving approximately 3 ½ -4 cups of tomato meat.

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chopped sweet onion (1 large)

2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large)

2 Tablespoons minced garlic

 

Lasagna Sauce

1 Tablespoon olive oil

2 cups sliced Cremini mushrooms (baby bella)

All the red sauce

2 ½-3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs

 

If using fresh herbs:

¾ Cup chopped or sliced Basil

1 Tablespoon minced Thyme leaves

2 Tablespoon chopped Rosemary

¼ Cup chopped Sage (less if you prefer a less intense taste)

½ Cup chopped Parsley

2 fresh Bay Leaves

 

If using dry herbs:

3 Tablespoons Basil, lightly crush

1 Teaspoon thyme leaves, lightly crush

1 Tablespoon Rosemary leaves, crushed

2 T Sage leaves (best) or rubbed sage

3 Tablespoons Parsley

1 dried Bay Leaf

 

3 Cups chopped fresh Spinach (don’t use frozen)

2 Cups semi-sweet white wine (white zinfandel is okay. I usually use pinot grigio or auslese)

Salt and Pepper to taste (Wait until the end. Despite what the cookbooks say, you may not need any.)

 

No Boil Lasagna Sheets

4 Cups shred part skim Mozzerella

 

Basic Sauce (can be prepared up to a month in advance and frozen. 1 week tightly sealed in Fridge)

1. Heat oil on medium heat and sauté onions until translucent (5-10 minutes). Add the garlic and cook until golden (2-5 minutes)

2. Add drained, seeded and cored tomatoes. Cook on medium low until most of the remaining  tomato “water” is gone and the tomatoes can be crushed with the back of a spoon. Approximately 30 minutes (depends on the size of pan)

3. Pour reserved juice into a separate sauce pan and reduce on medium high heat until reduced by half (2 ½ Cups more or less). Add to tomato/onion mix and puree until smooth.

If you are going to use a food mill, skip the coring and seeding.  Before adding the reduced liquid, run the tomato/onion mix through   the medium and fine plates for a “silkier” sauce. Add the reduced liquid.

 

Lasagna Sauce

 

1. Heat olive oil and sauté mushrooms until most of the liquid is gone.

2. Add the Basic sauce. Puree. Do NOT skip this step. The mushrooms add body and thickness to the sauce. If you want slices in your sauce, add another cup or 2 of mushrooms to the sauté pan and reserve them until after you puree the sauce.

3. Add the chicken, spinach, herbs and wine. Cook on medium heat until chicken is cooked. Aproximately 20 minutes. Taste to see if you need salt and pepper. At this point you can reduce it further and/or refrigerate the sauce (approximately 1 week before assembly) Reheat the sauce before assembly.

Assembly

 

Preheat oven to 400f.

 

1. Ladle ¼-1/2 inch sauce into bottom of 9×13 or 10×14 baking pan. Try not to have chicken pieces in this layer.

2. Depending on the brand of lasagna you are using, place a layer on top of sauce—leave about ½” between each sheet.

3. Ladle on sauce to cover.

4. Sprinkle on 1/3—1/2 of the cheese on sauce.

5. Repeat steps 2 and 3.

6. Cover pan tightly with aluminum foil. Place on the middle rack of oven. (Trust me, the middle rack will prevent the bottom from burning-experience!) Bake 30 minutes.

7. Uncover and add the rest of the cheese. Bake another 15 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

8. Remove from oven and let rest uncovered for 30 minutes. Any less and you will need to serve up with a spoon.

Makes approximately 8-12 serving (or as many as you wish to cut)