Chicken and Chorizo Lasagne
This Spanish take on a classic Italian lasagne from TV chef Dean Edwards is a perfect winter crowd-pleaser. It's warming, nutritious and cheap to make: a brilliant family meal.
Introduction
This is a Spanish take on a classic Italian dish – lynch me if you like, but you really should give this a go. You can use turkey or pork mince in this recipe too if you want to skip mincing the chicken thighs. Lovely served with a crisp side salad and some garlic bread.
Ingredients
| 4–5 | chicken thighs, skinless and boneless |
| 100g | chorizo, cubed |
| 1 | large onion, very finely diced |
| 2 | celery sticks, very finely diced |
| 1 tbsp | chopped thyme (leaves picked from the stems) |
| 3 | garlic cloves, crushed |
| 150ml | white wine |
| 1/2 tsp | smoked paprika |
| 2 x 400g | cans of chopped tomatoes |
| 1 tsp | sugar |
| fresh lasagne pasta (about 9 sheets) | |
| 70g | Cheddar cheese, grated |
| sea salt | |
| black pepper | |
| For the white sauce: | |
| 50g | unsalted butter |
| 50g | plain flour |
| 500ml | milk |
Essential kit
You will need a food processor and an ovenproof dish measuring about 33 x 23cm.
Method
Put the chicken thighs in a food processor and pulse until they are broken down. Don’t over process though, as it’s nice to have a few slightly larger pieces in the mixture. Add a dash of oil to a non-stick frying pan, tip in the chicken mince and brown over a medium to high heat. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.
Using the same pan with a little more oil if you need it, cook the chorizo, onion, celery, thyme and garlic for 5 minutes until softened. Add the wine and continue to cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Put the chicken back in the pan and add the paprika and tomatoes, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Season with the sugar and salt and pepper.
To make the white sauce, melt the butter over a medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour in the milk and continue whisking until it comes to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the sauce for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then season.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6. Grease an ovenproof dish measuring about 33 x 23cm. Spread a thin layer of chicken sauce in the bottom of the dish, then add a sheet of lasagne, then more chicken sauce. Add another sheet of pasta, followed by white sauce, then the chicken sauce. Continue until everything is used up, finishing with a layer of white sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and bake in the oven for 40 minutes.
