Chicken and Ham Lasagne

Monday 31 March 2014

Chicken and Ham Lasagne






(Lasagne noodles are somewhat different over here.  They're  not long and ruffle edged.  They are flat edged, and about 4 by six inches in size.)


I had some cooked chicken and some cooked ham that needed using up today.  I could have made a Cordon Bleu type of casserole, but I wanted something different.   I was craving pasta . . . which as you know my husband hates.  I think I finally found a pasta dish he sorta likes though.




Rachel Allen



  

Chicken and Ham Lasagne.  I found the recipe in a cookbook I love. Rachel Allen Home Cooking.  I didn't follow it exactly . . . I rather adapted it a bit, but then again . . . that's what I like to do.  


I find a recipe that works for me and then I adapt it to our tastes and my rather lazy way of cooking. It happens more often than not in my kitchen. 




 Chicken and Ham Lasagne








I have always loved Rachel Allen's recipes and her cookery shows.   The food she cooks is real food.  Nothing artsy fartsy there.   Nothing complicated.


You don't  have to run out and buy special ingredients or equipment.  That's my kind of cooking.  Simple and wholesome ingredients.   Simple cooking methods.  Economical use of what you have in the larder . . .

 

 Chicken and Ham Lasagne






I added some frozen spinach to the recipe  I like to get veggies in wherever I can.   I also added extra cheese to the top . . .





Chicken and Ham Lasagne







. . . because we like cheese, and that's how I roll.   You can never have too much cheese to my way of thinking.   


Its like bacon . . . more is . . . delicious.  Things just taste better if there's cheese and/or bacon involved.





 Chicken and Ham Lasagne






This was quite simply fantastic!   It helped me to use up my leftovers.   It was cheap to make.  The husband loved it.  Ok, so maybe love is a bit of an exaggeration.  


I LOVED IT . . . he just  kinda liked it . . . a lot.  That's as much as he would concede.



Chicken and Ham Lasagne







I think he's afraid that if he actually ever admitted to loving anything with pasta in it . . . that would open the flood gates or something . . . 



pasta would start raining down on him like cats and dogs . . .




Chicken and Ham Lasagne






And for someone like my husband . . . that just wouldn't do.  


He did really really like it though . . . trust me on this.  He had two servings.




Chicken and Ham Lasagne






*Chicken and Ham Lasagne*
Serves 4 to 6




Not your traditional lasagne.  Deliciously different and makes good use of leftover cooked chicken and ham.




75g unsalted butter (1/3 cup)
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped fine
1 fat clove of garlic, peeled and chopped fine
50g plain flour (1/2 cup)
700ml of milk (scant 3 cups)
300ml chicken stock (1 1/4 cup)
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 cubes of frozen leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
400g of cooked chicken, diced (scant pound)
200g cooked ham, diced (1/2 pound)
8 sheets of dried lasagne (you will need three layers)
250g of strong Cheddar cheese, grated ( 2 cups)





 Chicken and Ham Lasagne







Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter an 8 by 12 inch baking dish.  Set it aside.
Melt a third of the butter in a saucepan.  Add the onions and cook gently for a few minutes until it begins to soften without browning.   


Add the garlic.  Cook for a further two minutes.  Scoop out and set aside.  Add the remaining butter to the pan.   Whisk in the flour to make a smooth paste.  



Slowly whisk in the milk, until it is completely mixed in and smooth.  Whisk in the chicken stock as well.  You should have a thickened sauce which coats the back of a spoon.  Season with the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.




Chicken and Ham Lasagne






Mix together the ham and chicken.    Place half of it into the bottom of the baking dish.   Cover with half of the spinach.  Spoon 1/3 of the sauce over top.   


Top with four lasagne sheets.   Spoon the remainder of the ham/chicken mixture and the spinach over top.  Spoon over another 1/3 of the sauce.  Top with the remaining four sheets of lasagne.  Spoon the remaining sauce over all and sprinkle the cheese over top to cover.



Place onto a baking sheet and bake in the heated oven for 55 minutes until it is deliciously golden brown and bubbling.  Allow to stand a few minutes before serving.  Cut into squares to serve.



TO FREEZE - This freezes very easily in single portions. Just cut the cooked lasagne up into single serving pieces. Place each in an airtight freezer container.  Label and freeze for up to six months. When you are ready to serve. Pop the frozen piece of lasagna into a covered casserole and bake at 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4 for about 45 minutes until heated through and bubbling, uncovering for the last 5 to 10 minutes of cook time.

10 comments

  1. this is on my to do list, but I think I would change the sauce to a super thick cheesey type sauce mmmmmm.

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  2. This is pretty good just the way it is Vicky, but let me know how you like a super thick cheesy type of sauce! I could possibly be converted!

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  3. Peter and I would love this Marie! I've never had frozen spinach though, I really must buy some and try it!
    I hope you, Todd and Mitzie are all well, xx

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  4. I hope that you make it Pat. I have found that unless you are serving it raw, like in a salad, etc. frozen spinach is really quite good! I always have a bag of it in the freezer.

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  5. I've make this regularly as well as a nice alternative to the more traditional lasagne. I sprinkle parmesan cheese between each layer and also add chopped hardboiled eggs. It's a lovely meal.

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  6. That sounds really nice Marie!

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  7. I keep frozen cubes of spinach too now..So handy for dishes like these..never had this combo..looks good..Oh he is so lucky:)

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  8. And he knows it Monique! ;-) lol

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  9. What is a cube of spinach? I get it in 10oz and 16oz bags

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  10. Nancy, our spinach is frozen in little cubes. You just shake out what you want. Each cube is about 2 inches square I guess.

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