SUNDAY
Rosemary Chicken Lasagna
Not too long ago, I came upon this lasagna recipe over at the Feasting at Home blog and I knew it would find its way to our dinner menu sooner rather than later, if for nothing more than to satisfy my curiosity. As I have recently mentioned, I have an abundance of poultry, namely boneless/skinless chicken breasts, on hand right now and this simple, one pan dinner, was my first opportunity to make a dent in our chicken inventory this week. Hearty enough to be a satisfying Sunday dinner, it was also very quick and easy to put together, allowing me to enjoy the final day of our weekend. The unusual use of chicken {along with herbs & fresh spinach} as the base for the lasagna filling, as opposed to a traditional bolognese for instance, I knew would make for a lighter overall dish. But, what really sets this dish apart from its kin {filled with beef, pork, and veal soaked in a tomato, milk & wine bath and layered in between sheets of pasta} is the use of egg roll wrappers in place of the pasta.
These ready-made squares are much thinner than traditional sheets of pasta and require no pre-cooking at all. Even using a traditional balsamella, or white sauce made with milk, butter and flour {béchamel in France}, to lubricate the layers of meat filling, the final dish was noticeably lighter in weight and texture but just as packed with flavor as you would expect when eating lasagna.
But, before we can get to the wrappers we must first turn our attention to the filling…
Lean boneless/skinless chicken breast meat is diced and sautéed with fresh rosemary, brown mushrooms & spinach as well as red onion & garlic to make a flavorful, savory mixture…
While the chicken mixture cooks, prepare a balsamella {white sauce} and, when finished, set aside, covered with a piece of plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming, until ready to use. Once the chicken mixture & balsamella are ready you can begin to assemble the lasagna.
In a small roasting dish, coated with butter, spread a bit of the white sauce over the bottom of the pan. Then place 4-5 egg roll wrappers covering the bottom of the pan. Spoon a layer of the chicken mixture, as well as a drizzle of the balsamella, over the wrappers. Cover with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.
Repeat this layering one more time finishing with a layer of balsamella & parmesan cheese with a sprinkling of fresh rosemary…
The finished lasagna emerges from the oven golden brown and bubbling…
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds chicken breast, cut into bite size, 1/2 inch pieces
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms (I used crimini mushrooms)
- 1/2 red onion- peeled + diced
- 8 cloves garlic -peeled + pushed through a garlic press
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary- chopped
- 2 tablespoons dry white wine
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt -plus two generous pinches for chicken
- Freshly cracked pepper
- 1 cup packed, chopped fresh spinach
- ---
- 12 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 package egg roll wrappers
- 8 tablespoons {1 stick} unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 4 cups hot whole milk
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 whole nutmeg, finely grated
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- kosher salt to taste
- Truffle oil- optional
- Preheat oven to 400F 1.
- Cut chicken into 1/2 inch, bite size pieces. Season with 2 generous three finger pinches of kosher salt and cracked pepper. Saute in a skillet, on medium heat, with 1-2 tablespoons oil until golden brown, and cooked through. Place chicken in a bowl and set aside.
- In the same pan, saute diced onion until tender, on med high heat, about 5 min. You may need to add a little more oil. Add garlic, lower heat to medium, saute 2 minutes. Add rosemary, mushrooms, 1/2 tsp kosher salt and lower heat to med low, and saute until mushrooms release liquid and are tender, about 10 minutes. Add white wine and sauté until wine is completely absorbed. Add chopped spinach, stir until wilted and add chicken. Set aside.
- In a small pot, melt butter on med low heat. Add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to prevent it from taking on any color. Gradually add the hot milk in a slow, steady stream, stirring constantly with a whisk to prevent lumps.
- Add rosemary and increase the heat to medium and cook the sauce, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until it has the consistency of thick cream, 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese and season with nutmeg, white pepper and salt to taste, then set aside. Strain the sauce if it becomes lumpy. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the balsamella to keep it warm until ready to use and to prevent a skin from forming.
- Butter or grease a 8 x 12 inch roasting dish. Pour 1/2 cup balsamella sauce in the bottom and spread out. Lay down one layer of egg roll wrappers. Spread out 1/2 of the chicken-mushroom filling and drizzle 1/2 cup balsamella over the chicken mixture. Top with 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 4 ounces of the fresh mozzarella slices. Repeat, adding another single layer of wrappers, lightly pressing down. Add the remainder of the chicken-mushroom filling, 1/2 cup balsamella, the remaining mozzarella slices, and 1/4 cup Parmesan. At this point, you could drizzle with a little truffle oil.
- Top with the last layer of egg roll wrappers & pour the remainder of the balsamella, spreading evenly. Add the final 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Sprinkle with a little rosemary.
- Bake covered tightly with foil in a 400F oven for 40 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Remove foil and bake uncovered until top is golden, about 10 more minutes. Let rest out of the oven 10-15 minutes before cutting, so it sets up.
