COOKING WITH SIMON: Delicious lasagna cooked from scratch

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November 3, 2012

COOKING WITH SIMON: Delicious lasagna cooked from scratch

Palestine Herald-Press The Palestine Herald-Press Sat Nov 03, 2012, 11:48 AM CDT

PALESTINE — Last Friday was the monthly pizza night at Sabor a Pasion and it was a full house. And although it was cold outside, everyone kept warm with pizza from the wood-fired pizza oven and hearty and rustic lasagna – perfect comfort food for the season’s first cold front.

This lasagna is made with a creamy white ricotta sauce and layered with sliced chicken breast and roasted vegetables. The moist chicken and velvety sauce make a wonderful combination.

Red, yellow and orange bell peppers mixed with purple onion make a colorful addition to the stark white of the sauce, cheese and lasagna noodles. It is a beautiful presentation for any occasion.

The key to this recipe is making your own white sauce instead of using a packaged mix or jar of sauce as your base. It is quick and easy to make yourself and so much better for you. Also the pure flavor of whole, natural ingredients is what will make your cooking stand out above the rest.

Your guests, just as mine, will rave about how good it tastes.

Chicken & Vegetable White Lasagna

For the Sauce:

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons flour

3 cup warm milk

Salt and pepper

1 teaspoon chicken bouillon

1 pound ricotta cheese

Melt butter in a thick bottomed sauté pan. Add flour and cook for two minutes or until it reaches a light blond color. Add warm milk and bring to the boil. Take off heat and stir in ricotta cheese. Season with salt, pepper and chicken bouillon. Add more milk if sauce is too thick.

For the Lasagna:

9 lasagna noodles

2 chicken breasts, poached in water & sliced

1/2 each of red, green and yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced

4 mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Sauté all of the vegetables in a small amount of olive oil. In a 9x13 baking dish layer the bottom of the dish with 3 lasagna noodles, 1/2 of the vegetables, 1/2 of the chicken and some of the white sauce. Repeat with another layer and finish by topping the last layer of noodles with the last of the white sauce and the Parmesan cheese. Bake in a 350 degree oven for thirty minutes. Serve with fresh garden salad and garlic bread.

————

Simon Webster is the Executive Chef of Sabor a Pasion Country House & Bistro a multi-faceted dining destination just outside Palestine. For more information go to www.saborapasion.com or call 903-729-9500.

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