Now any of you who have made Donna's frikadeller Meat Patties will know immediately that this recipe will be good!
Here, Donna shares with us her homemade Chicken lasagne. Donna's been making it this way for many years, and yes, it does take a little time to do all the different components, but, as Donna says, IT'S WORTH IT! When you look at the love and attention that goes into making this meal, I am sure you will agree, there are just some dinners that leave a wonderful taste and create great memories, so if you have the time, try this recipe out. I can assure you, there won't be an unhappy tummy in your house!

Recipe from Donna Smith

Prep Time: 1 hour approx
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8 persons
Use an oven pan measuring 13" x 9" x 3" deep or 33 x 23 x 9 cm

Ingredients 

This recipe is made up of 4 recipes : Broth, Lasagne, Cream Sauce,Tomato Sauce.
You can also be flexible if time doesn't allow, and use ready made broth & lasagne.

The Broth
1 whole chicken, wings and backbone removed and chopped to break marrow, thigh and drumstick together, breast intact
2 whole chicken breasts
8 chicken wings, divided and chopped to break marrow
Celery, Carrot, Onion: one of each, one coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves

The Tomato Sauce
Celery, Carrot, Onion: one of each, finely chopped
4 cups mushrooms, stems for broth, caps sliced
1 garlic head finely chopped
1 zucchini de-seeded and finely chopped
½ bulb fennel, finely chopped
1 red pepper de-seeded and finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1 jar tomato sauce
1 28-oz can whole tomatoes
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil

The Cream Sauce
6 Tablespoons butter
1 cup flour
3 cups milk
2 cups (reserved) chicken broth
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 10-oz frozen artichokes
1 10-oz frozen spinach
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese ** This is for the topping
Lasagna noodles  ** Below is a recipe to make your own, or you can buy ready made lasagne sheets, enough to make 4 layers in your pan.

Instructions

Chicken Broth:
Prepare chicken. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large stock pot. Add chicken pieces and brown for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove and refrigerate the chicken meat pieces. Leave the chicken bone pieces in the pan and add the coarsely chopped vegetables to brown for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes to bring juices out. Add two bay leaves, 10 cups boiling water and 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt. Bring to a simmer. Add the thigh/drum pieces back to pan and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Skim surface at least once. Add breast pieces and keep simmering for another 20 minutes. Remove chicken meat pieces to cool and shred by hand. Strain chicken broth. Reserve 2 cups broth for this recipe and 8 cups for another use.

Tomato Sauce:
In large dutch oven over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons oil and 2 tablespoons butter. Saute mushrooms without moving for 5 minutes. Stir and brown for another 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Saute onion, celery, carrot, and fennel for 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add red pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms. Sprinkle salt - two or three pinches of Kosher salt - and pepper. Vegetables should be soft and fragrant. Add tomato sauce, whole tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste. Add Worcestershire, sugar, and a couple more pinches of Kosher salt. Add oregano and basil. Add 2 bay leaves. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for at least an hour, stirring frequently, partially covered.

Homemade Lasagna Noodles: **** You can skip this section if you are using shop bought lasagne sheets
Measure 2.25 cups flour and 1 teaspoon kosher salt into food processor and pulse to blend. Beat 4 eggs together in a small bowl. With the food processor running, add 1 tablespoon olive oil followed very slowly by the beaten eggs. Process until the dough forms a wet and sticky ball, about 10 seconds longer. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.

Cut the dough into four. Using the pasta roller attachment feed one piece through at the widest setting (1). Fold it letter-style and feed it through again. Dust with flour if it feels too sticky. Repeat three times. Now start reducing the width by one increment, ending at 5. Hang the sheet or lay it flat and complete the other three pieces.

Get a large pot of water boiling with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Prepare a large bowl of iced water. Prepare a "landing area" with clean towels. The noodles need only 2 minutes in boiling water followed by completely cooling down in the iced water. Remove from the iced water to the landing area and stretch the noodles out flat. Keep covered. When all noodles are prepared, roll up the towel.

Chicken Cream Sauce:
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil and coat with oil. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil over frozen artichokes and frozen spinach. Sprinkle with Kosher salt and pepper. Spread out in single layer on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Remove, cool, and chop artichokes into small dice.

As soon as the spinach has cooled, place it into the centre of a towel and wring it out. Chop into small dice.

In a large dutch oven over medium heat, melt 6 tablespoons of butter. Add flour. Stir until slightly brown, about 2 minutes. Gradually stir in milk, broth and cook, stirring constantly until thickened and smooth, probably 10 minutes. There should be no "flour" taste when done. Season with Kosher salt, black pepper and nutmeg.

Add shredded chicken, artichokes, spinach and Parmesan cheese to cream sauce. Remove from heat and gently stir.

Assembly:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using your biggest lasagna dish, spoon a layer of tomato sauce to cover the bottom fairly thickly. Add a layer of noodles. Add half of chicken sauce. Add another layer of noodles. Add rest of chicken sauce and other layer of noodles. Add another thick layer of tomato sauce. Add the last layer of noodles followed by the mozzarella cheese.

Spray the top with cooking spray. Spray a sheet of foil with cooking spray and cover the lasagna. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil lid and return lasagna to broiler to brown the cheese top. Let rest for 15 minutes and serve.

Print

Real Homemade Chicken Lasagne

Prep Time

1 hr

Cook Time

45 mins

Total Time

1 hr 45 mins

 

Servings: 8

Ingredients

This recipe is made up of 4 recipes : Broth, Lasagne, Cream Sauce,Tomato Sauce.

• t You can also be flexible if time doesn' allow and use ready made broth & lasagne.

The Broth

• 1 whole chicken wings and backbone removed and chopped to break marrow, thigh and drumstick together, breast intact
• 2 whole chicken breasts
• 8 chicken wings divided and chopped to break marrow
• Celery Carrot, Onion: one of each, one coarsely chopped
• 2 leaves bay

The Tomato Sauce

• Celery Carrot, Onion: one of each, finely chopped
• 4 cups mushrooms stems for broth, caps sliced
• 1 garlic head finely chopped
• 1 zucchini de-seeded and finely chopped
• ½ bulb fennel finely chopped
• 1 red pepper de-seeded and finely chopped
• 2 leaves bay
• 1 jar tomato sauce
• 1 28- oz can whole tomatoes
• 1 28- oz can diced tomatoes
• 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil

The Cream Sauce

• 6 Tablespoons butter
• 1 cup flour
• 3 cups milk
• 2 cups chicken broth reserved
• ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 10- oz frozen artichokes
• 1 10- oz frozen spinach
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups grated Mozzarella cheese ** This is for the topping

Instructions

Chicken Broth:

1. Prepare chicken. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large stock pot. Add chicken pieces and brown for 5 to 10 minutes. Remove and refrigerate the chicken meat pieces. Leave the chicken bone pieces in the pan and add the coarsely chopped vegetables to brown for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes to bring juices out. Add two bay leaves, 10 cups boiling water and 2 teaspoons of Kosher salt. Bring to a simmer. Add the thigh/drum pieces back to pan and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Skim surface at least once. Add breast pieces and keep simmering for another 20 minutes. Remove chicken meat pieces to cool and shred by hand. Strain chicken broth. Reserve 2 cups broth for this recipe and 8 cups for another use.

Tomato Sauce:

1. In large dutch oven over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons oil and 2 tablespoons butter. Saute mushrooms without moving for 5 minutes. Stir and brown for another 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Saute onion, celery, carrot, and fennel for 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir for 1 minute. Add red pepper, zucchini, and mushrooms. Sprinkle salt - two or three pinches of Kosher salt - and pepper. Vegetables should be soft and fragrant. Add tomato sauce, whole tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste. Add Worcestershire, sugar, and a couple more pinches of Kosher salt. Add oregano and basil. Add 2 bay leaves. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for at least an hour, stirring frequently, partially covered.

Homemade Lasagna Noodles: **** You can skip this section if you are using shop bought lasagne sheets

1. Measure 2.25 cups flour and 1 teaspoon kosher salt into food processor and pulse to blend. Beat 4 eggs together in a small bowl. With the food processor running, add 1 tablespoon olive oil followed very slowly by the beaten eggs. Process until the dough forms a wet and sticky ball, about 10 seconds longer. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.
2. Cut the dough into four. Using the pasta roller attachment feed one piece through at the widest setting (1). Fold it letter-style and feed it through again. Dust with flour if it feels too sticky. Repeat three times. Now start reducing the width by one increment, ending at 5. Hang the sheet or lay it flat and complete the other three pieces.
3. Get a large pot of water boiling with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Prepare a large bowl of iced water. Prepare a "landing area" with clean towels. The noodles need only 2 minutes in boiling water followed by completely cooling down in the iced water. Remove from the iced water to the landing area and stretch the noodles out flat. Keep covered. When all noodles are prepared, roll up the towel.

Chicken Cream Sauce:

1. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil and coat with oil. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of oil over frozen artichokes and frozen spinach. Sprinkle with Kosher salt and pepper. Spread out in single layer on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Remove, cool, and chop artichokes into small dice.
2. As soon as the spinach has cooled, place it into the centre of a towel and wring it out. Chop into small dice.
3. In a large dutch oven over medium heat, melt 6 tablespoons of butter. Add flour. Stir until slightly brown, about 2 minutes. Gradually stir in milk, broth and cook, stirring constantly until thickened and smooth, probably 10 minutes. There should be no "flour" taste when done. Season with Kosher salt, black pepper and nutmeg.
4. Add shredded chicken, artichokes, spinach and Parmesan cheese to cream sauce. Remove from heat and gently stir.

Assembly:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Using your biggest lasagna dish, spoon a layer of tomato sauce to cover the bottom fairly thickly. Add a layer of noodles. Add half of chicken sauce. Add another layer of noodles. Add rest of chicken sauce and other layer of noodles. Add another thick layer of tomato sauce. Add the last layer of noodles followed by the mozzarella cheese.
2. Spray the top with cooking spray. Spray a sheet of foil with cooking spray and cover the lasagna. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil lid and return lasagna to broiler to brown the cheese top. Let rest for 15 minutes and serve.