Lasagna, Oji Style: Part II -or- Ojisagna: Chicken Florentine

Yesterday I started a multipart entry on my adventures with lasagna. As promised, I’m continuing my posting and today we’ll talk about my Chicken Florentine lasagna. Be sure to go back and read Part One if you haven’t yet as this entry assumes you understand the basics from it.

So what is Florentine and why should you care? Well, I’m not sure you should care, but generally when a dish is considered Florentine it contains spinach and some type of white creamy sauce. Hence, this lasagna is made with spinach and alfredo sauce instead of tomato sauce.

Speaking of sauce, let’s jump into this. You can see in the pictures a packet of alfredo mix. You can use this. You can also use a jar of Bertolli or Classico or whatever. Just make sure, as with the tomato sauce from the traditional lasagna, that it’s as basic as possible. Remember, we’re wanting a blank canvas. If you want to go balls-to-the-wall, you can make your own. (See my recipe for that here: Penne Alfredo with Shrimp)

Okay let’s do this! As with the traditional lasagna, I treat the individual parts with lots of attention in order to make the best combination of flavors when it’s brought together.

Chicken Florentine Lasagna
Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed (From the bag in the picture, they’re actually quite large. I suppose that in reality it’s probably a pound and a half to two pounds of chicken)
• 5 cloves fresh garlic, minced
• Alfredo sauce (see note above)
• Lasagna noodles
• Mozzarella cheese (I use the shredded kind in a package but you can get the real stuff if you want. You’ll have to grate it yourself. The only reason I don’t use the good stuff is the money factor and, to a lesser extend, the moisture factor.)
• Cottage Cheese
• Ricotta Cheese (Yep, I use both cheese for this)
• Black pepper, salt, garlic powder, chili powder, parsley, paprika, and McCormick Cajun Seasoning
• Sesame oil, chili oil, wok oil, sesame chili oil (I have a bottle with all of these mixed the way I like it, grab some oils mix them to your liking, put them in a bottle. You’ll thank me later)
• Olive Oil (used to keep things from sticking)
• Spinach Leaves

(You can do a lot of the following steps concurrently but doing multiple things at once in the kitchen makes some people panic so do these at your own pace. Each of the steps can be done separately with no harm, it just takes longer.)

1. NOODLES (Yes, I know that there are no-boil recipes out there, this isn’t one of them) Boil water, salt generously and toss in the noodles. Be sure to move them around a bit in the beginning so they don’t stick. Nothing sucks more than tearing a noodle and having to boil more water for a single missing noodle. Lay out the noodles in the baking dish first to guess how many you need. Add three for contingency. Once the noodles are cooked, drain and rinse with cold water. (Protip: Any time you’re cooking pasta that’s going to get baked, give them a rinse in cold water to stop the cooking. Otherwise they’ll keep cooking in the oven and come out too squishy.)
2. SAUCE Start with your sauce method of choice. I absolutely don’t have precise measurements for this part. I’ve never tried to measure out what I add as I always do it by taste. Grab yourself a small sauce pan and empty the jar of pasta sauce into it. (or use the same pan you made the sauce in on the stove) If the sauce is cold, set it to medium-low heat. If it’s already hot, leave it on low. First thing I do is upend a jar of garlic powder until I get a nice little mound sitting on top of the sauce. We’re talking about a heaping tablespoon here. Grind some black pepper into the sauce and a twist or two of salt. Now, here’s the secret ingredient. I guarantee my alfredo is better than any you’ve ever tasted because of one unexpected ingredient. Chili powder. Add chili powder and stir until the sauce turns a light pink then taste. Now jizz in your pants. Now thank me.
3. MEAT Get a large skillet or a wok over high heat and coat it with some of the oil mix. Once the oil gives off a wisp of smoke, toss in the garlic and move it around. It should give a satisfying “PSSSSSSSHHHHHHH!” If it didn’t, the pan’s not hot enough. Once the garlic has a touch of color on it, add some butter. How much? Well…that depends on how rich you like your chicken. If you want it retardedly rich, throw in 3/4 a stick and essentially boil the chicken in it. If you just want the nutty taste the butter imparts, add a tablespoon only. It’s up to you. Add the chicken. Stir to coat it in the flavored oils evenly then spread it out to cover as much of the hot pan as possible. Cover with some paprika, cajun seasoning, and parsley. Turn the meat over to put the seasoned side down and repeat the seasoning. Cook until just ever-so-slightly blackened (but obviously cooked through) Once the meat is cooked, shred it with two forks or chop it finely on a cutting board.
4. MIX Once the meat is shredded add it to the alfredo pan. Turn the heat to low, stir to mix and let this sit and bubble for five to ten minutes to blend.
5. ASSEMBLAH!
   1. Prep your pan by brushing the bottom with extra virgin olive oil.
   2. Put a layer of noodles down. If they’re too long, trim them down to size with kitchen shears or hack ‘em on a cutting board.
   3. Spoon on a layer of chicken/alfredo mix. You want to cover the noodles completely and that’s it. No noodles peeking through but also no giant piles. Make it even and make sure there’s meat everywhere.
   4. Top the sauce/meat mix with a light layer of mozzarella between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. (yes, the mozzarella goes directly on top of the meat) You’ll notice that this isn’t as thick of a layer that was used with the traditional lasagna. It’s because the creamy alfredo already had a nice cheese taste too it. Just cover the meat, no need to make it thick.
   5. Add another layer of noodles, no oil needed this time.
   6. Mix equal parts cottage cheese with ricotta cheese and cover the noodles with 1/2 inch of this mix.
   7. Add a tasty blanket of spinach to the cheese mix
   8. Add another layer of noodles.
   9. Repeat steps 3, 4, and 5
   10. Brush the top layer of noodles to prevent burning/drying and sprinkle a little bit of mozzarella on top (see pics). Garnish with crushed black pepper, oregano, basil and some paprika for looks.
6. BAKING Toss it in the oven until it bubbles and is browned on top. How hot? Well, that’s a good question. I’ve made it at 325, 350 and 375 and haven’t noticed much difference except in how fast it gets “done.” It’s really not cooking at this point, it’s just making sure everything is melted and hot. I find that 30 minutes at any of the temps does a good job but 375 makes it nice and brown on top. You’ll be able to see it bubbling out the top when it’s done. Don’t stress about times and temps. When it’s brown and bubbling, it’s done.

This completes part two of my Ojisagna series. Check back tomorrow for the Seafood Lasagna recipe. Again, if you have any questions or comments, please post them and I’ll be happy to answer or challenge you to fisticuffs. Happy cooking!

-OjiChef