Lasagne Lovin' - Chicken Cauliflower & Fennel Lasagne

I have been very absent for the last few weeks.  Sorry about that, but I felt it was time that I concentrate on populating Corningware411 with as much information as possible so people have some sort of resource, whether collecting or questioning correct usage of pieces.  Heck I even republished an old Coffee Talk post about my Corningware Drip Coffee Maker on the site.

Be that as it may, I am back with a collaborative project between the two sites.  I was testing a piece from Corningware's Rangetopper line (bonded aluminum base) and made sauces to see how well it distributed heat without scorching.  As a result, I have a batch of Quick Tomato Sauce (as opposed to Slow Cooked Tomato Sauce) and a batch of Onion laced Bechamel.  The tests were successful, which is always the preferable outcome, but the bonus is that I have everything I need to make that most perfect of foods.... Lasagne!

This is more in the Northern Italian Style of Lasagne.  Though it does contain Tomato Sauce, it also contains Bechamel and lacks any form of Ricotta. For this one though, I decided to get a little more complicated.  Normally, when I use Bechamel and Tomato Sauce in one pan of lasagne, I just mix the two together before layering.  This time, I chose to keep them separated to form a more interesting layering effect.  I think I had originally seen this idea in a cookbook for a vegetable lasagne.  I figured that since this lasagne contains a significant amount of veggies, I would follow suite.

Chicken, Cauliflower and Fennel Lasagne

1 head of Cauliflower, cut into florets
2 Fennel Bulbs, quartered and sliced
3 TB Olive Oil
1 recipe Quick Tomato Sauce (or 3 cups Slow-Cooked Tomato Sauce)
1 recipe Onion Bechamel
2 cups cooked Chicken breast meat, chopped
1 lb Lasagne Noodles
1 cup Panko
16 oz dry Mozzarella, shredded
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
Reduce the Cauliflower to small florets......

Quarter, remove the core, and slice the Fennel.....

Place in a large bowl and toss with 3 TB Olive oil.

Spread the veggies on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes..

Just until they begin to brown......

Chop the Chicken and mix 1 cup of Chicken with 1 cup of the Quick Tomato Sauce in a small bowl.

Mix the remaining Chicken with 1 cup of the Bechamel in a small bowl.

Place Lasagna noodles in a 13x9 baking dish...

Pour hot water over the noodles and let sit for 5 minutes.

Now they should be slightly "bendy".

OK... Layering time.......
First, butter a 13x9 pan....

Pour in the chickenless Bechamel and spread it over the bottom of the pan.

Place lasagna noodles over the Bechamel.

Spread the Chicken laden Tomato Sauce over the noodles.

Spread 1/2 of the vegetable mixture over the Chicken.

Sprinkle with 4 oz of Mozzarella.

Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Panko.

Place down another layer of noddles.

Spread the Chicken laden Bechamel over the noodles.

Spread the remaining Vegetables.

Sprinkle with 4 oz of Mozzarella and the remaining Panko.

Top with another layer of noodles.

Pour the remaining Tomato Sauce over the top.

Sprinkle with the remaining Mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Cover with a sheet of parchment.....

Then cover with foil.

Bake for  40 minutes...

Remove the foil and parchment, then bake for 10 -15 minutes longer.....

Until all nice and bubbly.

Let sit for 15 minutes to allow the Lasagne to "set up".

and serve......  Now THAT'S what I'm talkin' 'bout!

Now I must go be alone with the whole pan!

Mangia!!
~~

It Ain't Irish, It Ain't Italian Either, But it IS Green - Spinach à la Florentine

Well, tomorrow is St. Patrick's day and just in case you are foregoing the "Corned Beef and Cabbage" I thought I would throw another side dish option at you. And while it isn't necessarily fitting with the holiday, it is green, it is cheesy and it is more than delicious. I like to think of it as creamed spinach with an attitude.

I am speaking of that famed dish influenced by Florence, most commonly found in the form of quiche these days; Spinach à la Florentine. Don't let the "à la" fool you though, this is really a French dish. Yeppers; for while the population of Florence is VERY fond of Spinach, most dishes in Tuscany, with an "à la Fiorentina" attached to the end, contain Peas. LOL

The "Florentine" suffix occurred during the reign of Caterina de’ Medici as queen of France and was kind of a joke among the French court chefs (who were a little bitter, since they were learning how to cook from the Florentine chefs Caterina brought with her) So thus it was, due to her love of spinach, that all dishes containing the leafy green vegetable were suddenly dubbed "à la Florentine".

Irritated French Chefs and arranged marriages aside, this stuff just plain rocks! And how could it not? For it is covered in Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, and anything covered in cheese is most definitely, completely, totally and unequivocally AWESOME!!!

So now that the Awesomeness of Spinach à la Florentine has been established, let us embark upon a quest for the aforementioned "awesomeness".

Spinach à la Florentine

1 1/4 cups Whole Milk
1 Bay Leaf
2 TB Unsalted Butter
3 TB AP Flour
1/4 cup Olive oil
2 Cloves Garlic
18 oz Spinach, washed & dried
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
2/3 cup (~3 oz) Parmigiano-Reggiano, Shredded; Divided

Begin by placing the Milk and the Bay leaf in a small sauce pan and warming it over medium-low heat.

Butter a 11 x 7 inch casserole or baking dish and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the Butter in a separate sauce pan.

Add the flour, whisking to form a roux and cook for 2 minutes.

Remove the Bay leaf from the Milk.....

Then add the Milk to the roux, whisking constantly.

Cook the resulting Balsamella (béchamel) until thick and bubbly (about 6 minutes)

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saute pan.

When hot, add the garlic and saute until soft (not brown)

Add the spinach and let it cook down.

And down....

And down... Until the water steams away, then remove from the flame and season with Salt and Pepper.

Reserve 1/3 cup of the Balsamella to another sauce pan.

Stir 1/2 of the shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano into it and set aside. (Making a sort of super-charged Sauce Mornay)

Pour the remaining Balsamella over the spinach and stir to coat evenly.

Spread in the Casserole dish...

Pour the reserved Parmigiano-Reggiano spiked Balsamella over the top of the spinach mixture.

Spreading it evenly over the Spinach/Balsamella mixture.

Sprinkle with the remaining shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Bake in the oven for 18 minutes or until it begins to bubble.

Then place under the broiler for about 2 minutes to brown it just a little.

Serve while piping hot.

It's slightly messy when being served, but messiness doesn't really matter when something is THIS awesome... ;)

Did I mention that this stuff is awesome?

Mangia!!
~~