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Chicken Lasagna - For when it's cold outside & when you need a warm, comfy food

When you are living in a city like Bangalore, you could always expect showers in the evenings. It brings the down the temperatures and it gets cold outside. Though not very cold like the winters in December or January. But it's during these chillier days....or rather nights, you feel like eating a warm & comfy homemade food. I just love easy cooking one-pot meals, and a lasagna is perfect for such conditions.

 This is one recipe that I've been wanting to post for quite some time. I make this so often and couldn't decide which one should I choose first, the classic with beef, a vegetarian or this one with chicken. I finally decided on this chicken lasagna as it is lighter, and at my home kids love it. 

 I was really excited about how this chicken lasagna turned out. A classic is always a classic; but actually this chicken lasagna turned out just perfect.....it had the perfect texture and tasted incredibly good. I didn't use cheese between layers as I didn't want to overwhelm the recipe with too much cheese. 

 So here's my recipe:

 Ingredients
9-12 lasagna noodles (I used the ready to use one from Barilla)
1 cup, Mozzarella cheese, freshly grated - for topping

 Chicken Sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
500 gm ground chicken
2 cups tomato puree
1 tsp oregano
4-5 fresh basil leaves, chopped (or 1 tsp dry basil)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 Bechamel sauce
50 g butter
1/3 cup flour
2 1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Prepare chicken sauce
In a large pan heat oil over medium high heat. Cook the onion and garlic over medium heat until softened, stirring constantly. 
Add the chicken and cook until it changes its colour. Break up any lumps of meat using a fork. 
Add tomato puree, oregano, basil, salt and pepper to taste. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for awhile. Set aside.

 Prepare the Bechamel sauce
In a medium sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and stir until smooth, for about 1 minute, until bubbling. Remove from heat and gradually stir in milk, until mixture is smooth. Return to heat and stir constantly until the sauce boils and begins to thicken.  Add nutmeg, salt and pepper and set aside until ready to use. 

 Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 8 X 12 inch lasagna dish with olive oil or melted butter.

 Assemble the lasagna. 
Spread a layer of chicken sauce (about 1/3 of the sauce) over the bottom of the baking dish. Spread a thin layer of Bechamel (about 1/2 cup of Bechamel sauce). Place a single layer of noodles over top and press gently. Depending on noodles size might be used 3 to 4 noodles per layer. Repeat spreading half of the remained chicken sauce over the noodles. Spread 1/2 cup Bechamel sauce on top. Add a new layer of noodles, pressing gently. Spread the remaining chicken sauce, another 1/2 cup Bechamel and add the last layer of noodles.

 Top the last layer of noodles with the remaining Bechamel sauce and sprinkle the freshly grated Mozzarella over the top. Cover with aluminium foil making sure it doesn't touch the surface.

 Cook for about 25 minutes covered with foil, and another 25 minutes without. If necessary, broil for few minutes until the cheese has the desired golden brown look. Set aside for about 15 minutes before serving. Serve alongside some fresh salad, or even some toasted bread. It is delicious.

 Beef lovers, can always replace chicken with beef in this recipe and get a classic beef lasagna. For a vegetarian lasagna you can replace chicken with mushrooms and you get a delicious hearty meal as well.

 Bon appétit !!

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