Food Network: Chicken, Mushroom and Spinach Alfredo Lasagna

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Chicken, Mushroom and Spinach Alfredo Lasagna
Recipe courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2006

Ingredients
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 pound button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
7 cups milk
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 pound spinach, stemmed, washed, blanched and roughly chopped
3 cups grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for coating casserole dish
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon Essence, recipe follows
1 pound oven-ready lasagna sheets
1 tablespoon butter, cut into 8 pieces

Instructions
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often until the mushrooms are browned and
most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onions and garlic
to the pan and saute until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the flour and
cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, to make a light roux, about 2 minutes.
Whisking constantly, slowly add the milk and continue to cook, stirring
occasionally until thickened, 5 minutes. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, pepper,

nutmeg, spinach and 1 1/2 cups of the Parmesan and cook, stirring, until
thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Place a piece of plastic wrap
directly on the surface of the bechamel sauce until ready to assemble the
lasagna.

Set a large, 12-inch saute pan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Season the
chicken with the Essence and remaining 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and place in
the hot pan. Sear the chicken, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and
cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool and set aside.
When cool, cut into bite size pieces.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Coat a 9 by 13 by 3-inch casserole with olive oil, and spread about 1/2 cup of the

bechamel sauce on the bottom of the dish. Lay 3 sheets of pasta across the bottom
of the dish and spread 3/4 cup of the bechamel sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle 1/4
of the chicken over the bechamel sauce, then sprinkle with 1/4 cup of the
remaining Parmesan. Lay another 3 sheets of pasta over the chicken. Repeat 2
additional times with the remaining bechamel sauce, chicken, Parmesan, and pasta,
ending with a layer of pasta covered with bechamel sauce. Sprinkle the remaining
1/2 cup of Parmesan over the bechamel sauce and scatter the butter pieces over the
top. Place the casserole on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake,
uncovered, until bubbly and well browned, about 45 minutes. Remove from the oven
and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Note: You may need slightly less than the entire package of lasagna noodles,
depending on the pan used for the casserole. Also, you may be able to fit more
than 3 pieces of pasta in each layer, depending. The pasta can be broken into

smaller pieces to fill in the gaps.

Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning (also referred to as
Bayou Blast):
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Yield: 2/3 cup

Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch
Published by William Morrow, 1993.