I love everything about Italy – their culture, their food and would love to visit the place too, it’s on my bucket list for this year!
Growing up finding a good place to have Italian was not easy so I took it upon myself to experiment and come up with the recipe. Over the years this recipe has gone through various transformations but today I will be sharing one of the best versions that I and my friends enjoy. The recipe uses chicken but you can use your favorite vegetables as a substitute (Find instructions below for the same)
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 40 mins
Ingredients:
9 Lasagna Sheets
250 gm Shredded cheese ( I use Marble Cheddar)
200 gm thinly diced Chicken (Replace it with the Veggies of your choice if you want to make a vegetarian version)
1/2 cup Chopped Spinach (Optional)
6 medium-sized tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
5 Tbsp of cream cheese (Alternatively, you can use table cream)
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp ground pepper
2 Tbsp of chili garlic sauce (you can use any spicy sauce of your liking)
1 Tbsp tomato ketchup
1/2 tsp red chili powder (optional)
1/2 tsp chicken spice powder (optional)
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp chili flakes
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp butter
Directions:
Lightly blend Tomatoes and garlic
Place the pan on a medium-high heat
Once heated, add butter and chicken into the pan and let it cook half-way through till the water from the chicken absorbs, takes about 10 mins
Take the chicken out and put it aside
In the same pan, pour olive oil, tomato mixture and let it cook for 4-5 mins
Add salt, pepper, chili garlic sauce, tomato ketchup, red chili powder, chicken spice powder, cream cheese and cook for 2 mins
Add the chicken to the bubbling sauce and let it cook all the way through. It takes about 10 mins
While the sauce is cooking, boil the lasagna sheets as per box instructions
Once the chicken is cooked, add Italian seasoning, oregano, chili flakes to the sauce and turn the heat off
Vegetarian Version:
Lightly blend Tomatoes and garlic
Place the pan on a medium-high heat
Lightly saute the vegetables (except spinach) for 5-7 mins and take them out in a bowl
In the same pan, pour the tomato mixture and let it cook for 4-5 mins
Add salt, pepper, chili garlic sauce, tomato ketchup, red chili powder, chicken spice powder (its vegetarian), cream cheese and cook 2 mins
Add the sauteed vegetables to the bubbling sauce and let it cook for 5-7 mins
While the sauce is cooking, boil the lasagna sheets as per box instructions
Once the sauce seems done, add Italian seasoning, oregano, chili flakes to the sauce and turn the heat off
Assemble the Lasagna:
Spread 2 Tbsp of sauce on the bottom of the baking dish so that the sheets don’t stick to the bottom.
Place one layer of boiled Lasagna sheets on the tray
Next, layer with the cooked sauce, some shredded spinach, some shredded cheese and repeat the process 3 times
Make sure you add most cheese on the top most layer
You can add some oregano seasoning on the top for some additional flavor
Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil
Baking:
Preheat the oven to 375℉
Place the Baking dish on the middle rack and bake for 20 mins
Remove aluminum foil and Bake for another 10 mins
Take the Baking dish out and let the Lasagna rest for 10 mins (It’s the hardest part but you don’t want to burn your mouth!)
Serve and Enjoy!
This recipe is very close to my heart. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. If you do try it out, please make sure to share photos and tag herbs_n_garlic on Instagram
♥ Gurleen
