Chicken Pesto Lasagne

Must be my " chicken week " as I made another favourite Chicken Pesto Lasagna. Probably better in summer as you can take advantage of the beautiful fresh basil that is seasonal. I think you will find there isn't a problem finding it now. I like to make my own pesto, but if you don't feel inclined you may use a store bought one. I am not sure where this recipe originally came from as I have been making it for so long, but as with all lasagnas there is many a variation on the original idea.
The tomato sauce or passata is a lovely addition as it cuts through the creamy sauce. A little green salad would be nice with it, or leave it as a dish by itself.
Lasagna sheets come as dried or fresh and cooked and chilled from the refrigerator section, or shelf at the supermarket. They do soak up a lot of liquid to cook, so make sure the sheets are well covered with the béchamel sauce.


1 packet of Lasagna sheets either fresh or dried
4 chicken breasts or 8 thigh fillets you could also use chicken strips.
250 grams mozzarella, grated
100 grams shredded parmesan

PESTO
1 bunch fresh basil leaves or about 1 1/2 cups leaves
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
3 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 cup Rylstone olive oil or similar
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

BECHAMEL

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup plain flour
2 cups milk
1 chicken stock  cube
pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Tomato Passata see Veal Parmigana recipe

You will need a food processor for the pesto. Alternatively a hand blander might do the trick. All in together and drizzle the olive oil in as you blend it.

For the béchamel, melt the butter and stir in the flour to make a roux a thick paste. Warm the milk, if you add cold milk you will get lumps ! Crush the stock cube and add to the warm milk and stir.
Gradually add the milk to the roux and stir as the sauce thickens. Add the pepper and nutmeg.
Lastly add the pesto to the béchamel and set aside.

Cut the chicken into strips about 11/2 pieces and poach them, until just cooked.
Spread a thin layer of the béchamel on the bottom of a dish. Cover this with a layer of lasagna sheets,
pesto bechamel sauce and cover with a layer of the chicken and sprinkle with mozzarella.
Continue layering, finishing with a layer of lasagna sheets, bechamel and parmesan.
Cover with foil and  cook in a 175 oven for 30 minutes or until cooked. You may take the foil off for the last 10 minutes. Serve on a bed of the tomato passata with a sprinkling of parmesan.

Chicken Involtini with Sweet Potato and Ginger Puree

I love this little chicken dish and the fact that it can be made the night before or well ahead is a bonus.
It is fabulous for a large group and I have often served it when entertaining a group of women. It is tasty and light goes a long way and never ceases to please. I usually serve it with a kumera mash but you could do a pumpkin, green pea, even  garlic potato. The last time I tried it with a cannelli bean and garlic mash and whilst it tasted great it didn't have a lot of plate appeal. The chicken looks better on a contrast colour. A green salad is all you need for an accompaniment and serve it with a drizzle of thickened stock or a veal demi glaze.

6  half chicken breasts { 2 breasts will feed 3 people even 4 if serving to women or small eaters so 6 breasts could potentially feed 18 but assume it will feed 12 and then there could be some left for seconds
18 pieces of prosciutto approx 3 pieces of a good prosciutto per breast
3 cups fresh breadcrumbs
90 grams toasted slivered almonds
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 cup chopped chives
1 cup parmesan cheese grated
1/2 cup pecorino grated
toothpicks
Glad bake

Puree

4 sweet potato
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup cream
2-3 tablespoons finely grated ginger
S+P


Boil the potatoes until tender. Mash with all the ingredients and set aside until serving. You can add more ginger if you like, more stock or less cream which will make it thinner.

Toast the almonds. Use a food processor to turn the bread into crumbs. Place in a bowl and mix in the herbs and cheese and toasted nuts.
Place a breast between two sheets of baking paper . Pound with a meat mallet or rolling pin. The paper stops it getting shredded to bits. You will end up with a flat quite large piece of chicken.
Lay three pieces of prosciutto on a sheet of paper or a board the same way to how you are going to roll it. Place a breast on top and spread some of the breadcrumb mixture on top leaving a little room free at the outer edges. Carefully roll the breast up as tightly as you can like a huge pinwheel. When you are finished secure it with toothpicks. You could also use cooking twine. It doesn't have to look really neat as it will be fine when cooked.
When finished all the breasts  wrap each one in a clean piece of baking paper  and roll the ends like a bon bon and put into a baking dish.
If not eating until later  place in the fridge.
Remove from the fridge about half an hour before you are ready to cook it. Heat the oven to 180C . Cook for about half an hour in the glad bake and then open the parcels  cook for a further 15 mins. This keeps the meat moist and gives it a bit of colour

Serve will a green salad of baby spinach, mint rocket and a bunch of cress. Toss the salad with lemon and olive oil and sea salt.

Flattened breast

Rolled with the prosciutto before securing with toothpicks

Veal Parmigiana

A beautiful simple Italian dish. If you have your tomato passata already made, half the work is done. The veal can be crumbed and cooked well ahead of time with the tomato passata and cheese added right before you are ready to put into the oven. The time in the oven is really only heating time, so it doesn't need much more than 20 minutes, depending on the oven of course. One piece of veal per person, easy for catering purposes, maybe a couple of extra ones for hungry boys !






6 pieces of veal schnitzel
1 large egg
fresh breadcrumbs or Krummies 
Rylstone olive oil
grated cheese mix
I use a blend of mozzarella cheddar and parmesan, if you buy a blended cheese please add extra very good parmesan.








Tomato Sauce/ Passata
Rylstone olive oil
1 large onion finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 kilo fresh Tomatoes, or 3 tins tomatoes
Chopped basil, parsley and chives 

Fry the onion and garlic gently in some Rylstone olive oil, until soft. Add the tomatoes and chopped herbs and simmer for about 15 minutes. If you would like to increase the quantity add some tomato puree like Sugocasa or Pomi.

Break the egg into a bowl and beat. Place a good amount of breadcrumbs onto a flat plate and mix in some salt and pepper if you wish. It is also good to add a couple of tablespoons of grated parmesan to the breadcrumb mix. Dip the veal pieces one at a time into the beaten egg and coat in the breadcrumbs. Press the crumbs into the meat and make sure each piece of the meat is covered well with the crumbs.You may need to use another egg if you are using more pieces of veal.
Heat the oil in a large fry pan and place a couple of the pieces of veal into the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pan. Cook until browned on each side and remove. Drain on absorbent paper.
Preheat the oven to 175C.
Place the cooked veal into a greased large ceramic baker, so they aren't overlapping each other. You may have to use two dishes. Cover with a good quantity of the Tomato Sauce and the cheese mixture.
Place in the oven for approx 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and the dish is thoroughly heated.
Serve with a green salad or steamed vegetables.

Leek and Prosciutto Risotto with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Leeks are plentiful at the moment and I love cooking with them. Risotto is not hard to make it just requires 20 minutes of your undivided attention with continual stirring. You can always pour yourself a big glass of wine and chat to your guests as you make it ! There are a number of oven bake risottos and I haven't tried this one in the oven , purely because I prefer to cook them the old fashioned way !
Although, some steps for this are done in the oven making it a little simpler.
I think the secret to a good risotto is a good strong stock and it must be boiling hot when it hits the rice to keep the cooking going. If you don't make your own there are many great stocks available in store these days other than a stock cube. But by all means use this if you have too, but keep in mind they are quite salty. Try a Massell stock powder instead !
If you prefer pancetta to prosciutto that is fine too, as long as they are thin slices.
How much stock to use is approximate, you may end up using slightly less or more. It doesn't matter. The important thing is for the risotto to be creamy, not too dry or too runny. Do not drown the rice in stock it should only be just covered maybe 1/4 cup at a time , absorb and repeat until done approx 18-20 minutes. This recipe will serve four, it is easy to increase amounts !



300 grams Arborio rice
1 large leek finely sliced
6 slices thin prosciutto
1/2 punnet cherry or truss tomatoes ( if they are small use the lot )
2 large cloves crushed garlic
1 litre chicken stock
80 grams butter
3/4 cup  white wine
2 tablespoons fresh or dried tarragon if fresh unavailable
1 cup finely grated Parmesan



Preheat oven to 180C. Place prosciutto and tomatoes on a baking paper, lined tray in the oven for approx 10 mins.
Remove from the oven and break the prosciutto into smallish pieces and set aside.
Place stock in a saucepan alongside the pan you are going to cook the risotto in and bring to the boil.
In the pan  you are cooking the risotto, melt 60 grams of the butter and saute the leek and the garlic with the wine, until soft.
Place the rice into the pan and stir to thoroughly coat in the butter, leek mixture.
Begin ladling the hot stock, about 1/4 cup at a time, and wait until totally absorbed until the next ladle of stock is added, keep repeating and stirring the whole time.
About 5 minutes before finishing, add the tarragon, and stir through.
When the rice is done, turn off the heat and add the prosciutto, the remaining butter, a twist of black pepper and gently toss the tomatoes through trying to keep them whole. If some break up that's fine, but it is quite nice when you are eating to get a burst of tomato every now and again.
Just be careful with salt content, prosciutto and parmesan and stock are all salty !
Serve at once with extra parmesan.

Cheese and Chilli Dip

My children told me I have to put this dip on my blog. They love it, as do adults ! I also served it for the dinner party for the 30 young men, whilst they consumed 100 beers ( or so it appeared )
It goes very well with a Mexican themed meal and will disappear in no time. Great for a snack before Chilli Con Carne. I think it is best served with corn chips or you could use the pita chips from my previous blog. Great for outdoor summer easy entertaining.


1 small finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 cup  hot chicken stock
100 grams  Philly cream cheese
150 grams sharp cheddar or those cheese blends that are already grated and so readily available in supermarkets
100 grams grated parmesan cheese
1 small red chilli or 1 teaspoon of minced chilli from a jar.

In a saucepan saute the onion and garlic and chilli in the butter. Add the flour and stir to combine.
Add the chicken stock and mix through the roux.
Add the cheeses and stir until melted.
Keep stirring until cheese is melted and mixture is thick. Be careful with salt content as stock will be salty if using cubes and parmesan is salty.
Serve warm with chips garnish with finely chopped tomato if liked.
If you make it well ahead and find on reheating it is too thick, just add a bit more stock, to thin.
it will be gone in no time !!

Smoked Trout and Fennel Lasagne

Back to exploring with fennel again!  I love pasta, particularly combined with the subtle flavour of  trout and fennel.I have been making this recipe for twenty years, it is a variation  from a recipe in a gorgeous vegetable book, by Robert Budwig who is actually a book illustrator and artist and has illustrated several cook books.
I made this lasagne, for my sewing girls the other day and they loved it. It seems quite rich, but is very light and tasty. The parmesan and cream in the sauce can be thinned down with stock, as in, more stock than cream and you don't need a lot to serve, just a drizzle around the plate.
Its a very hard dish to photograph, but hopefully it looks good enough to make. I used a 22 cm square baker
A green salad and a glass of white wine and your done!

1 fennel bulb

200ml fish stock, Campbells, available at supermarket, use remaining for serving sauce

250g smoked piece of ocean trout, flaked

2 tablespoons ground fennel seeds

4 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese

Salt & pepper

Fresh pasta - lasagne sheets available in the fridge section of the supermarket

Bechamel Sauce recipe to follow

600ml milk

60g butter

60g plain flour

½ onion, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 clove

Warm the milk with onion and herbs, and set aside. Leave to stand for 15 mins to infuse the flavours. Strain the milk, melt the butter in a saucepan, and mix in the flour, cook for a few minutes. Whisk in the strained milk, and continue whisking until combined and simmer gently for 2 - 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat, and add the fish stock at the last minute.

Cut the fennel bulb in half lengthways, and cook gently in boiling salted water for 15 minutes.  Cut into thin lengthways slices.

Place the lasagne sheets in a greased ovenproof dish, slightly overlapping.

Layer the fennel, flaked trout, bechamel, ground fennel, and parmesan, ending with a layer of pasta, bechamel, ground fennel and parmesan.  Bake for 25 - 30 minutes at 180C.

Serve with a sauce of cream, and parmesan cheese, cut into squares, and use the fennel fronds as decoration.