Lasagne Pollo E Aglio
- Joe S.
- Jul 30, 2021
- 7 min read
Updated: Sep 7, 2021
A delicious chicken lasagne loaded with spinach, herbs, and garlic and topped with a creamy white sauce!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 65 minutes
Serves 6 people
Gluten/Soy/Nuts Free
Lasagne..simple and delicious. A favorite of mine. I have combined it with another favorite, Pizza Pollo e Aglio, and created a new staple at our house.: Lasagne Pollo e Aglio (Chicken and Garlic Lasagne). It is creamy, full of amazing flavors, and truly delicious.
Loaded with layers of a light filling made with ground chicken, ricotta cheese, fresh herbs, spices, spinach, and... lots of garlic, this lasagne is a true winner. It's a great option for those looking for a different yet delicious take on the traditional dish. This is a great recipe to add to your repertoire.
The method is very simple: prepare the filling, layer the lasagne, and bake. That's all. It truly requires minimal cooking skills and the results will impress everyone at the dinner table.
What is the flavor profile?
Creamy, fresh, herbaceous, savory, and spicy notes.
What ingredients will I need to make this dish?
Ground chicken, gluten free oven-ready Lasagna, a large white onion, fresh thyme, garlic, fresh basil, fresh parsley, fresh spinach, heavy cream, ricotta cheese, asiago cheese, mozzarella, provolone cheese, parmesan cheese, crushed pepper flakes, olive oil, and salt & pepper to taste.
What else will I need to make this dish?
A large pot to cook the chicken in, a knife, a cutting board, measuring cups and spoons, a wooden spoon, and a deep baking dish.
Can I make substitutions?
Yes. You can use ground turkey instead of chicken.
Can I make additions?
Yes. You can add Italian sausage for a more complex flavor profile.
What kind of Ricotta cheese should I use?
I normally use Ricotta Cheese made with whole milk. you can use Ricotta made with part-skim milk if you wish.
Can I use smoke Provolone cheese?
I would not recommend that. It will add a very smokey flavor to the lasagne.
Can I use zucchini instead of lasagne pasta?
Hey...anything is possible!
How can I make this vegetarian?
Skip the chicken and just use a ricotta filling with spinach and herbs.
Some Useful Information
What is lasagne?
Lasagne are a type of wide, flat pasta, possibly one of the oldest types of pasta.
Lasagne, or the singular lasagna, is an Italian dish made of stacked layers of thin flat pasta alternating with fillings such as ragù (ground meats and tomato sauce) and other vegetables, cheese (which may include ricotta and parmesan), and seasonings and spices such as garlic, oregano and basil. The dish may be topped with melted grated mozzarella cheese. Typically, the cooked pasta is assembled with the other ingredients and then baked in an oven. The resulting lasagne casserole is cut into single-serving square portions.
History
Lasagne originated in Italy during the Middle Ages and have traditionally been ascribed to the city of Naples. The first recorded recipe was set down in the early 14th-century Liber de Coquina (The Book of Cookery). It bore only a slight resemblance to the later traditional form of lasagne, featuring a fermented dough flattened into thin sheets (lasagne), boiled, sprinkled with cheese and spices, and then eaten with a small pointed stick. Recipes written in the century following the Liber de Coquina recommended boiling the pasta in chicken broth and dressing it with cheese and chicken fat. In a recipe adapted for the Lenten fast, walnuts were recommended.
The traditional lasagne of Naples, lasagne di carnevale, are layered with local sausage, small fried meatballs, hard-boiled eggs, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, and sauced with a Neapolitan ragù, a meat sauce. Lasagne al forno, layered with a thicker ragù and Béchamel sauce, and corresponding to the most common version of the dish outside Italy, are traditionally associated with the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. In other regions, lasagne can be made with various combinations of ricotta or mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, meats (e.g., ground beef, pork or chicken), and vegetables (e.g., spinach, zucchini, olives, mushrooms), and the dish is typically flavored with wine, garlic, onion, and oregano. In all cases, the lasagne are oven-baked (al forno).
Traditionally, pasta dough prepared in Southern Italy used semolina and water; in the northern regions, where semolina was not available, flour and eggs were used. In modern Italy, since the only type of wheat allowed for commercially sold pasta is durum wheat, commercial lasagne are made of semolina from durum wheat.
In the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, and especially in its capital, Bologna, layers of lasagne are traditionally green (the color is obtained by mixing spinach or other vegetables into the dough) and served with ragù (a thick sauce made from onions, carrots, celery, finely ground pork and beef, butter, and tomatoes), bechamel and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
What is Ricotta?
Ricotta is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the casein has been used to make cheese, notably albumin and globulin.
Ricotta (literally meaning "recooked", "refined") protein can be harvested if the whey is first allowed to become more acidic by additional fermentation (by letting it sit for 12–24 hours at room temperature). Then the acidified whey is heated to near boiling. The combination of low pH and high temperature denatures the protein and causes it to flocculate, forming a fine curd. Once cooled, it is separated by passing the liquid through a fine cloth, leaving the curd behind.
Ricotta curds are creamy white in appearance, and slightly sweet in taste. The fat content changes depending on the milk used. In this form, it is somewhat similar in texture to some cottage cheese variants, though considerably lighter. It is highly perishable. However, ricotta also is made in aged varieties which are preservable for much longer.
What is Asiago?
Asiago is a cow's milk cheese, first produced in Italy, that can assume different textures according to its aging, from smooth for the fresh Asiago (called Asiago Pressato, which means 'Pressed Asiago') to a crumbly texture for the aged cheese (Asiago d'allevo, which means 'Breeding farm Asiago'). The aged cheese is often grated in salads, soups, pastas, and sauces while the fresh Asiago is sliced to prepare panini or sandwiches; it can also be melted on a variety of dishes and canteloupe. It is classified as a Swiss-type or Alpine cheese.
Asiago is produced in multiple countries around the world including Italy, the U.S. and Australia.
In Italy, Asiago has a protected designation of origin (Denominazione di Origine Protetta or DOP, see below), as asiago was originally produced around the alpine area of the Asiago Plateau, in the regions of Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige.[4] Asiago cheese is one of the most typical products of the Veneto region. It was, and still is, the most popular and widely used cheese in the DOP area where it is produced. The DOP production area is strictly defined: It starts from the meadows of the Po Valley and finishes in the Alpine pastures between the Asiago Plateau and the Trentino's highlands. The DOP designated area where the milk is collected and Asiago DOP cheese is produced extends to four provinces in the north-east of Italy: the entire area of Vicenza and Trento and part of the provinces of Padua and Treviso. Asiago cheese which is produced and matured in dairies located more than 600 m (2,000 ft) above sea level, using milk from farms also more than 600 m (2,000 ft) above sea level, is entitled to the additional label "Product of the Mountains".
Over time, production of asiago was initiated in other countries as well, particularly those with a history of notable immigration from Italy. As such, production of the cheese has spread around the globe and the term “asiago” describes a style of cheese that can be produced anywhere.
What is Provolone?
Provolone is an Italian cheese. It is an aged pasta filata (stretched-curd) cheese originating in Casilli near Vesuvius, where it is still produced in pear, sausage, or cone shapes 10 to 15 cm (4 to 6 in) long. Provolone-type cheeses are also produced in other countries. The most important provolone production region today is Northwestern Italy and the city of Cremona. Provolone, provola, and provoleta are versions of the same basic cheese. Some versions of provolone are smoked.
What is Basil?
Basil also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints).
Basil is native to tropical regions from central Africa to Southeast Asia. It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide.
There are many varieties of basil, as well as several related species or hybrids also called basil. The type used commonly as a flavor is typically called sweet basil (or Genovese basil), as opposed to Thai basil (O. basilicum var. thyrsiflora), lemon basil (O. × citriodorum), and holy basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum).
While most common varieties of basil are treated as annuals, some are perennial in warm, tropical climates, such as the closely related holy basil and hybrids such as African blue basil.
Ingredients
9 OZ box of Heartland Gluten Free Oven Ready Lasagna or 10 OZ box of Barilla Gluten Free Oven Ready Lasagne
2 pounds of ground chicken
1 large white onion, chopped
1 teaspoon of fresh thyme, chopped
10 cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 cup of fresh spinach, chopped
16 ounces of heavy cream
15 ounces of ricotta cheese
1 cup of mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup of asiago cheese, shredded
8 slices of provolone cheese
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon of crushed pepper flakes
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste
Method
Preheat oven to 350º F.
Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil n a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the chicken, thyme, 1 teaspoon of salt 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and 1 teaspoon of crushed pepper flakes. Mix all together, reduce heat to medium, and cook for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. Make sure you break any lumps that may form during the cooking process.
Once the chicken is fully cooked remove from heat and add the ricotta cheese, spinach, parsley, and basil. Mix well and set aside.
Add 4 tablespoons of cream to a deep baking dish. Place the first layer of gluten free lasagne pasta in the bottom and then some of the chicken filling. Top with some cream, two slices of provolone, and cheeses. Repeat the process until you have created multiple layers (3, 4, or more layers). Top with cream and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and add some parmesan cheese on top. Place under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes to get a nice color on top. Remove from over and allow it to cool down for 5 minutes before cutting into it.
Enjoy!!!
Printable Recipe (PDF) below:
Comments