Chicken and Mushroom Lasagna

Elena Butuc

In our family, lasagna is a treat meal, children love it and each time they enjoy it, without too much fuss. Of course, the classic lasagna recipe is the star but lately we've started to like this white lasagna with chicken and mushrooms. It's got finer taste and it's a bit quicker because it doesn't take that long to prepare as the Bolognese sauce in the classic recipe.

In any lasagna recipe, what matters is the ingredients and a correct balance of the layers when assembled in the pan. Depending on the size and height of the pan, the number of lasagna sheets, the sauce and filling amounts may differ. Try not to use too much meat, it has to be just enough to combine with the sauce and the lasagna sheets. And if you have any filling left, you can use it in an omelette, or a dish with potatoes - do not overcrowd the lasagna - in time and with experience, you'll see I was right.

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Ingredients

Metric US

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Chicken meat

500 g

boneless chicken thighs or breast

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Mushrooms canned

200 g

1 small jar of mushrooms in water or 5 white fresh mushrooms

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Lasagna Sheets

250 g

I normally use lasagna sheets which don't need pre-cooking - about 15 sheets per package

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Vegetable oil

30 ml

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Yellow cheese

200 g

whichever you like

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Salt

1 tsp

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Ground black pepper

0.25 tsp

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Bechamel sauce

2 l

recipe below -you must prepare double quantity of white sauce!

Step by step

First, we quickly prepare the chicken.

I cut into small cubes and fry it in the pan with a little oil.

Next time, I'm thinking of boiling it for an hour before frying (this is optional), for an even more interesting lasagna texture.

When the chicken starts to brown, add in the drained mushrooms and cook for 5 more minutes.

Finally, adjust the taste with salt and pepper.

I suggest not making the bechamel sauce too long in advance - it might harden a bit which will make the assembling more difficult.

So, make 2 portions (this means using 1 litre milk) of bechamel sauce.

When the chicken and the bechamel sauce are ready, we start to assemble the lasagna.

Use a deep oven dish, here I have a 20x30cm glass dish (from Ikea and, by the way, it's very practical).

Pour 2-3 ladles of white sauce in the baking dish and spread evenly over the base.

Cover with a layer of lasagna sheets, taken right from the package if they mention 'no pre-cooking required'.

Pour over 1-2 ladles of white sauce and spoon some chicken filling - spread evenly.

Arrange another layer of lasagna sheets and repeat the procedure - until the baking dish is full or until there is no filling left. Here, make sure there is balance. For example, I had 4 layers of sheets and 3 layers of chicken and mushrooms filling.

Important! The last layer must be plenty of bechamel sauce, without any meat filling.

Over this last layer, top with grated cheese, spread evenly.

Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes to 200 degrees C, then let stand for a while after removing from the oven.

I like to let lasagna stand for at least 20 minutes on the table before serving, enough time for the cheese to still stay soft and the flavours to blend.