posted by elinor 9-28-99
Chicken and Spinach Lasagna
4 whole chicken breasts, skinned, boned and halved
6 Tbl. butter
8 Tbl. flour
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup half and half
Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
3 packages ( 10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach, thawed, squeezed dry
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened
6 ounces Jarlsberg cheese, grated
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbl. dry white wine
Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
8 ounces lasagna noodles
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
Place chicken breast halves in small stockpot with enough water to cover. Heat to simmer; cook until chicken is cooked through, about 15-20 minues. Remove from pot and cool until easy to handle.
Melt butter in heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in flour to form stiff
paste. Whisk in buttermilk, half and half, salt
and pepper to taste. Stir briskly over low heat until sauce is smooth and
thick, about 5 minutes; set aside.
Cut meat into small pieces. Stir together chicken, spinach, cream cheese,
ricotta, Jarlsberg and 3 Tbl. of the wine. Season to taste with salt, pepper
and nutmet. To make mixture more moist, add small amount of reserved
sauce.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pour small amount of sauce onto bottom of 13 x 9 baking dish. Top with layer of uncooked lasagna noodles; sprinkle with 2 Tbl. of the wine. Add layer of filling, then another layer of sauce. Place another layer of noodles over sauce, sprinkle with 2 more Tbl. wine and top with more filling. End with layer of sauce. Drizzle remaining 2 Tbl. wine around inside edges of pan. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake until browned and bubbly, about one hour.