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Chicken and Pea Lasagne
A new take on a beef mince lasagne, with fresher flavours for summer. Chicken and pea lasagne.
Servings: 6
: 507 kcal
Author: Just Jo
Ingredients
For the meat sauce
  • 550 g skinless boneless chicken thighs
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 bay leave
  • 2 leeks finely sliced
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried sage
  • 60 ml red wine
  • 3 tbsp tomato sauce
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 can of tomatoes
  • 200 g fresh or frozen peas
  • Salt and pepper to season
  • Worcestershire sauce to season
For the white sauce
  • 2 tbsp soft butter
  • 2 tbsp plain white flour
  • Lots of grated nutmeg about 20 scratches on a grater should do
  • Black pepper
  • One bay leaf
  • 450 ml milk semi or full fat work best but you can do it with skim if that's what you have in
To finish and assemble
  • 1 ball of mozzarella ripped into shreds and strands and scattered over the top
  • 24 cherry tomatoes to put on top
  • Oregano black pepper and Worcestershire sauce to sprinkle
  • 2-3 tbsp grated parmesan to sprinkle on the last layer
  • 12 dried lasagne sheets
Instructions
  1. Firstly mince the chicken if it isn't already minced. I use the grinder/mincer attachment on my KitchenAid with the coarse plate. One pass is enough. If not, cube the chicken into 1 inch chunks then pulse in the food processor cautiously, stopping before it becomes a paste.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and add the bay leaf and leeks (always remember to wash them thoroughly to get rid of any dirt when using leeks). Cook until softened and translucent over a low heat for about 10 minutes - I like to cover them to encourage this to happen faster.
  3. When the leeks are softened, mince the garlic then add to the pan. Cook briefly then follow with the minced chicken turning the heat up to medium. Stir well and cook until no raw chicken is evident - it won't brown very much but that's ok.
  4. Add the dried oregano and sage then pour in the wine, and reduce only briefly before adding all the tomatoes (canned, sauce and purée). Stir in your peas (no need to defrost if using frozen) and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the sauce reduced a little. If it looks too thick add a splash of water. Season with plenty of cracked black pepper, a little salt and around 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce.
  5. Meanwhile make your white sauce by melting the butter and stirring in the flour over a medium heat in a small saucepan. Add the nutmeg and black pepper then dribble in the milk very slowly, whisking all the time. Once it is all added then continue to cook until it thickens and feels heavier on the whisk - usually around 5 minutes.
  6. Preheat oven to 180˚C and make sure the oven shelf will have the lasagne in the centre of the oven to avoid burning the top before it is heated through and the pasta cooked.
  7. To assemble, layer a quarter of the chicken into a deep lasagne dish, top with three lasagne sheets and a quarter of the white sauce. Repeat until all used up and then top with the shredded mozzarella, stud with cherry tomatoes, sprinkle with extra oregano, black pepper and a little sprinkle of Worcestershire sauce followed by grating over a light covering of parmesan cheese.
  8. Bake for 35 minutes until piping hot all the way through and allow to stand for a minimum of 20 minutes before serving. A large salad and some focaccia or garlic bread (have you seen my garlic dough balls?) alongside are essential in the Apple Chapel!