DECADENT WHITE CHICKEN AND PESTO LASAGNA

Pasta|Casseroles|Chicken|Italian

Ingredients

The Pesto* (or use store bought):

6 cups basil leaves, packed

8 garlic cloves, peeled and rough chopped

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 ¼ cups pistachios, shelled

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups extra virgin olive oil

½ – ¾ cups water

The Béchamel Sauce:

5 tablespoons butter

7 tablespoons flour

2 ½ cups whole milk

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

1 egg, room temperature

½ cup Jarlsberg or gruyere cheese, shredded

The Lasagna:

4 cups cooked and shredded chicken breast

1 ½ cups pesto

½ cup heavy cream

1, box No-Boil Lasagna noodles (12 noodles)

2 ½ cups whole milk ricotta cheese

5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 ¼ cups Jarlsberg or gruyere cheese, shredded

½ cup fresh basil leaves

Instructions

To make the pesto, place all of the ingredients, except the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times to combine ingredients and chop basil and nuts.

Put the processor on low speed and slowly drizzle the olive oil in the top of the lid until a creamy paste forms, scraping down the sides as needed. Gradually add as much of the water as needed to create a smooth and creamy consistency. Set aside. If not using immediately, place in an airtight container in the fridge.

To make the béchamel, melt the butter in another large deep skillet. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, whisking to make a paste and cook off the raw flour flavor. Gradually add the milk, whisking until a smooth thick sauce forms that coats the back of a spoon. Add the salt, nutmeg, and parmesan to the pan whisking vigorously to combine.

Turn off the heat and add the egg, whisking vigorously to keep it from cooking in the sauce. Continue to whisk vigorously for 2 minutes until the egg is well incorporated into the smooth thick sauce (this is a great arm workout!). Stir in the shredded cheese until fully melted and smooth. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat a 9” x 13” baking dish with non-stick spray.

To make the lasagna, combine the shredded chicken, pesto, and heavy cream in a large bowl and mix to combine. Note – if you are using store-bought pesto and it is very ‘thick’ you may want to add an extra ¼ cup of heavy cream to ‘loosen’ the pesto up so it evenly coats the chicken.

Spread about 1 cup of the béchamel in the bottom of the prepared baking dish and top with 4 of the no-boil noodles, slightly overlapping. Top the noodles evenly with about ⅓ of the chicken-pesto mixture and spread another cup of the bechamel evenly over the top. Dollop about ¾ cup of the ricotta over the chicken and top that with about 1 ¼ cups of the mozzarella. Top with 4 more noodles and repeat the layers, followed by 4 more noodles and repeat again (this will use up all of the chicken mixture, ricotta, and mozzarella). Top with the last 4 noodles and the spread the remaining bechamel over the top of the noodles, taking care to make sure none are exposed. Top that with the shredded Jarlsberg and dollop with the remaining ½ cup of pesto.

Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden and bubbly. Insert a knife into the lasagna in several areas to make sure the noodles are cooked and soft. If they are not, cover the casserole with foil and cook for 5-10 minutes more. Top with foil and let rest for 20-30 minutes before cutting. Garnish with fresh basil leaves and DEVOUR!! So decadent, but so good!!

*This recipe makes about 3 cups of delicious pesto. Use in marinades, salad dressing, pasta sauce, sandwich spread, soups, as a condiment or sauce on chicken, fish, steak, etc… The options are endless! It for 3 weeks in the fridge in an airtight container or also freezes beautifully. Freeze in ice cube trays and place cubes in ziplock bags so you can easily pull out as much as you need for each meal.