Italian Pasta Recipes - Chicken and Spinach Lasagne (Lasagne con Pollo e Spinaci) Recipe

Ingredients                     

• 30 ml/2 tbsp oil

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• 1 garlic clove, crushed

• 225 g/8 oz raw chicken meat, diced

• 200 g/7 oz/1 cups chicken livers, trimmed and chopped

• 100 g/4 oz button mushrooms, sliced

• 5 ml/1 tsp dried thyme

• 2.5 ml/1/2 tsp ground mace

• 65 g/2 1/2 oz/2/3 cup plain (all-purpose) flour

• 300 ml/1 1/4 cups chicken stock

• 225 g/8 oz/1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed

• 450 ml/2 cups milk

• 50 g/2 oz/1/4 cup unsalted (sweet) butter

• 50 g/2 oz/1/2 cup Fontina cheese, grated

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 8 sheets no-need-to-precook lasagne

• Grated Pecorino cheese

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Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and garlic and fry (sauté) for 2 minutes. Add the chicken and cook, stirring for 4 minutes.

2. Stir in the chicken livers, mushrooms, thyme and mace and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in 15 ml/1 tbsp of the flour and cook for 1 minute.

3. Blend in the stock, bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Squeeze out all the moisture from the spinach, stir into the chicken and season to taste.

4. Meanwhile, whisk the milk with the remaining flour in a saucepan. Add the butter and bring to the boil, stirring all the time. Simmer for 2 minutes, stir in the Fontina cheese and season to taste.

5. Spoon a very thin layer of the chicken mixture into a greased 2 liter/8 1/2 cup oven­proof dish. Top with a layer of pasta.

6. Add a layer of half the remaining chicken, then a third of the cheese sauce then a layer of pasta.

7. Add the rest of the chicken, half the remaining cheese sauce and all the remaining pasta. Top with the remaining cheese sauce.

8. Sprinkle with the Pecorino cheese and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C/ 350°F/gas mark 4 for 40 minutes or until the lasagne is tender when a knife is inserted down through the centre.