Chicken Lasagne

Lasagne is a very comforting, homely meal to have, especially for dinners with family and friends. We already have tuna and beef lasagne recipes, so this time, here’s a recipe for those who love chicken.

In our lasagne, we have specifically used orange bell peppers as they are sweeter in taste than green and yellow bell peppers, but not as sweet as the red ones. But if you can’t get any orange bell peppers, feel free to use any type that you’d like in your lasagne. Additionally, we have used oven-ready lasagne sheets to make things easier, but feel free to use regular ones after boiling them.

Serving size: 5-6

Ingredients:

For the chicken meat sauce

• 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
• ½ cup finely diced onions
• 6 minced garlic cloves
• 1/3 cup finely diced orange bell pepper
• 300g minced chicken
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• ½ can whole peeled tomatoes with the sauce (roughly 200g)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp sugar
• ¼ tsp dried rosemary
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves

For the white sauce

• 3 tbsp unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 2 cups full cream milk
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper

For assembling the lasagne

• 5-6 oven-ready lasagne sheets
• 170g shredded mozzarella cheese
• 50g shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves

Instructions:

1. To start off, heat up a pot on medium heat and add in 1 ½ tbsp olive oil, along with ½ cup finely chopped onions and 6 minced garlic cloves. Sauté for 3-4 minutes or until the onions are soft and start to get lightly brown in colour.
2. Then, add in 1/3 finely diced orange bell peppers and continue sautéing for another 4 minutes, until they are softened.
3. Next, add 300g minced chicken and mix for 1 minute, then season with ½ tsp chilli powder, ¾ tsp salt, and ½ tsp ground black pepper. Continue to cook the chicken for another 3 minutes or until they are fully cooked and white in colour.
4. After that, add ½ can whole peeled tomato with the sauce and 2 tbsp tomato paste. Mix well, then add 1 tsp chilli flakes, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp sugar, and ¼ tsp dried rosemary. Cook for 2 more minutes, until everything is fully incorporated into the sauce, making sure to squash the tomato chunks. The sauce will be simmering at this point.
5. Lastly, mix in 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley leaves and cook for 1 last minute. Once fully cooked, the chicken meat sauce will be thick and bright red in colour.
6. To a new pot, add 3 tbsp unsalted butter and heat on low until it fully melts (this takes around 1-2 minutes). Then, add in 3 tbsp flour and cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes on medium high heat, while stirring continuously using a spatula, to avoid any lumps. Once done, it should have become a smooth, creamy, bubbling paste.
7. Gradually, add 2 cups of full cream milk and continuously stir using a whisk to avoid any lumps. Then, on high heat, stir for 4-5 minutes or until it is completely smooth and starts to get thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, while still being drippy.
8. Then, quickly season with ½ tsp chilli flakes, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp ground black pepper. Mix well and remove from heat. The sauce will be rapidly bubbling and further thicken and become viscous as it cools down.
9. Preheat the oven at 190 degrees Celsius for 10 minutes.
10. To start assembling the lasagne, take a 6×8-inch baking tray and spread 5 tbsp of the white sauce on the bottom of the tray, fully covering it.
11. Then, place 2 oven-ready lasagne sheets on top of the sauce (we had to break a third sheet to make it fit and cover the bottom entirely).
12. Then, spread half of the chicken meat sauce on top of the lasagne sheets, making an even layer. After that, spread half of the white sauce on top of the meat sauce. While spreading the sauces, make sure to cover the lasagne sheets fully so that it bakes evenly.
13. Next, top the last layer of the white sauce with half of the shredded mozzarella cheese (85g) and 50g cheddar cheese (all of it).
14. Repeat steps 11, 12 and 13 to make another layer; lasagne sheets followed by the rest of the meat sauce and white sauce, and lastly, the rest of the shredded mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley on top of the mozzarella cheese.
15. Once the oven has preheated, place the lasagne tray on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 40 minutes at 185 degrees Celsius, until the top turns golden brown. When done, the lasagne sheets should be soft like normal pasta, and the cheese should have melted and become gooey.
16. After removing the chicken lasagne from the oven, let it cool down for 10 minutes before digging in so that the layers can settle and hold their shape when you cut into it. Enjoy!