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.

Baked Stuffed Minced Lamb- Kibbe

I am a great fan of Middle Eastern food and the cookbooks of Claudia Roden and Paula Wolfert and more recently  have added the fabulous Ottolengi books to my collection.
So this week I asked an Armenian friend to escort me around his favourite places to shop. My sister and I ventured to Greenacre and Auburn and visited the best food outlets for middle eastern food supplies.
We were very much in the minority as far as the burka goes, but all the women and men working in these grocers, welcomed us and were very helpful in explaining  the varieties of spice mixes and sharing of their favourite recipes.  A few giggles with a bit of lost in translation in some cases !We shopped in their grocers and dined at a Lebanese restaurant  Al Aseel  and had the most beautiful, baba ghanoush, hommus, garlic dip, Tabouli, felafel's and skewers of  marinated chicken, lamb and shish kebab. The felafel was divine. Crispy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside.!
Everything was so fresh and tasty. No alcohol is served at this restaurant but we were very happy to join the locals with a huge glass of lemon juice with fresh mint, simply delicious and so refreshing on a hot day.
We then ventured onto a coffee and nut roaster who sells to the public. The fragrant aromas wafted out of the place as we parked the car. The problem with the freshly roasted nuts, they were nearly all consumed before we finished our day !
We stopped at Ablas for the most amazing array of baklava and middle eastern sweets and chocolates.
The variety of sweets that we would call baklava, was enormous but again patient explanations were given
as to their differences..
What a wonderful day out ! So, with a  full tummy and a car full of goodies, I came home totally inspired to cook. Coffee, nuts, pomegranate molasses, rose petal jam, green chilli sauce, bulgur, baba ghanoush, hummus, Turkish delight, baklava and Persian fairy floss and loads of fresh herbs and vegetables were purchased.
I haven't made Kibbe for at least 15 years and had forgotten how easy it is and better the next day. A great  transportable dish for summer . I used the spice mix I purchased from the grocer, which does not have the listed ingredients on the packet. The smell of it is quite intoxicating. The following recipe is my version of old and I made two lots one using the spice mix I bought and they were very similar in taste. This is not the little tear dropped shapes you get at Al Aseel, but easier to prepare.Give it a try!

2 cups cracked wheat bulgur ( you can use fine, but this time I purchased a coarser grain )
1 kilo minced lamb plus see below
1/4 teaspoon of mixed spice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup sesame seeds
olive oil
2 cups chicken stock

Stuffing

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 large onion finely chopped
125 grams lamb mince
1/8 teaspoon all spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint


Treat the bulgur like rice, couscous or quinoa, 1 cup makes two. Place into a saucepan with the hot stock and simmer until soft and the stock is absorbed. Approx 10 minutes. Alternatively you can soak the wheat in a bowl just covered with cold water. Drain and remove any excess liquid and set aside.
Meanwhile, for the stuffing lightly brown the pine nuts in the olive oil and remove from the pan.Saute the onion until tender and add the lamb mince and cook until all traces of pink disappear. Drain any fat, add the nuts spices and mint.

Stuffing

Lamb mixed with bulgur and spices

Mix the bulgur and lamb with the mixed spice, nutmeg, cayenne and black pepper in a bowl. The best way to do this is with your hands.
Divide the mixture in half. Spray a baker approx 23 x 30 with olive oil and layer half of the meat mixture into the dish and flatten down.
Add the stuffing and spread evenly across the uncooked lamb mixture.
Top with the remaining meat mixture and smooth down.
Cut into a diamond pattern and sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle with a little olive oil.Bake in a preheated oven for 20 mins, turn down to 160C and cook for a further 10 mins.
I serve this with tabouli and a minted yoghurt.

Baked Stuffed Kibbe