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.