Region: Italy
Category: Pasta-Baked
Season: Winter
Difficulty: Labor Intensive
Lasagne does not always have to follow the familiar recipe of ragù, mozzarella, and ricotta cheese. Any kind of lasagne can be made and in this recipe the flavors are enhanced with fresh basil, the earthy taste of portobello mushrooms, and the appealing green of spinach. This lasagne is most conveniently made in three 9 x 9-inch aluminum pans. The fiore di latte cheese is actually the name of cow’s milk mozzarella in Campania, while buffalo milk mozzarella is properly called mozzarella. Nearly all American-made mozzarella is made with cow’s milk and therefore, technically, should be called fiore de latte rather than mozzarella.
Yield: Makes 10 to 12 servings
Preparation Time: 1:40 hours
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Two 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
10 large fresh basil leaves
1 1/4 pounds boneless chicken breast halves, pounded into thin scallopine between two pieces of wax paper with a mallet or side of a heavy cleaver
1/2 pound portobello mushrooms, sliced
10 ounces spinach, heavy stems removed rinsed well,
1 pound instant (no-boil) lasagne
1 pound fresh ricotta cheese
1 pound fiore di latte or mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
1. In a flame-proof casserole, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high heat, then cook the onions and garlic until the onion is translucent, stirring frequently so the garlic doesn't burn, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes, and season with salt and pepper and cook on medium-high heat, stirring so the bottom doesn't blacken, for 20 minutes. Turn the heat off and add the basil to steep until the sauce is needed.
2. In a large non-stick skillet, heat the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high heat, then cook the chicken until light golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Set the chicken aside.
3. In the same non-stick skillet, cook the mushrooms until dark golden brown, stirring, about 4 minutes. Remove and set aside.
4. In the same non-stick skillet, wilt the spinach in handfuls, adding 1 to 2 tablespoons water as you do until all the spinach is wilted, 3 to 4 minutes in all. Drain and set aside.
5. Spoon a few tablespoons of tomato sauce in the bottom of each of three 9 x 9-inch aluminum pans. Layer in this order: lasagne, sauce, spinach, salt, pepper, mushroom, lasagne, ricotta, sauce, lasagne, chicken, salt, pepper, sauce, lasagne, mozzarella, and sauce.
6. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
7. Cover the lasagne pans with a tented piece of aluminum foil and bake until bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes. Serve or cool and freeze.
Note: For frozen lasagne, preheat the oven to 400ºF and place the frozen lasagne in the oven for 1 1/4 hours.
Posted: 12/27/2006
