Chicken and mushroom lasagna with béchamel

Method

1. 1

   Prepare ingredients and baking dish

   Preheat a conventional oven, top and bottom heat without fan, to 190 °C. Prepare a dish about 20 × 30 cm. Clean and slice 500 g mushrooms, chop 150 g onion and 10 g garlic. On another board cut 600 g chicken into about 1.5 cm cubes without washing it. Separate raw and cooked utensils. Divide salt: 3 g for filling and 3 g for béchamel; pepper: 0.25 g for each.

   
   ×

   Lasagna ingredients with sliced mushrooms and raw chicken on a separate board

2. 2

   Boil and drain the sheets

   Boil 240 g sheets in a large pot of potable water without added salt. Follow the packet time, taking them out about 1 minute early if they will be baked. Discard cooking water; it is excluded from the calculation. Drain and spread separately on a clean cloth. Use sheets requiring preboiling: oven-ready sheets need another liquid ratio and are not specified here.

   
   ×

   Cooked lasagna sheets laid separately on a clean cloth

3. 3

   Cook the chicken separately

   Heat 10 g oil in a wide skillet. Add chicken in two batches if crowded and cook over medium-high heat for about 8–10 minutes overall, stirring. Add part of the filling’s 3 g salt and 0.25 g pepper. Check the thickest cubes with a thermometer: at least 74 °C. Continue cooking if needed. Transfer with a clean utensil to a clean container, never to the raw-chicken plate.

   
   ×

   Chicken cubes cooking alone in a skillet

4. 4

   Sauté mushrooms and combine the filling

   Add the other 10 g oil and onion to the same skillet and cook 4–5 minutes. Add garlic for 30 seconds, then mushrooms. Sauté 8–10 minutes, in batches if needed, until reduced and free liquid evaporates. Add the rest of the filling’s salt and pepper, then the cooked chicken. The filling should be moist without a puddle; reduce liquid before assembly.

   
   ×

   Sautéed mushrooms and onion mixed with cooked chicken cubes

5. 5

   Make the béchamel

   Melt 40 g butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in 40 g flour for 2 minutes without browning. Gradually whisk in 700 g milk to remove lumps. Simmer gently for 6–8 minutes, stirring, until it coats a spoon but remains spreadable. Add the other 3 g salt, 0.25 g pepper and 0.2 g nutmeg. Do not reduce to a thick paste.

   
   ×

   Smooth pourable white béchamel whisked in a saucepan

6. 6

   Build three pasta layers

   Spread a thin béchamel layer on the base. Reserve about a quarter of the remaining sauce for the top, dividing the rest between two layers. Split filling in two equal parts and the original 240 g pasta into three layers fitted to the dish, trimming sheets if needed. Layer pasta, half filling, béchamel and 30 g mozzarella; repeat with another 30 g mozzarella. Finish with the third pasta layer, reserved sauce and remaining 120 g mozzarella. Cover every pasta edge with sauce.

   
   ×

   Layering pasta, chicken, mushrooms and béchamel in a baking dish

7. 7

   Bake and check the centre

   Cover loosely with foil and bake 20 minutes at 190 °C. Remove foil and bake another 10–15 minutes until bubbling and golden, without burning. Insert a clean probe at several central points without touching the dish: at least 74 °C. If cooler, cover if needed and bake another 5 minutes before measuring again. Browning does not replace the temperature check.

   
   ×

   Golden baked lasagna in its oven dish

8. 8

   Rest, portion and store

   Rest for 10 minutes on a heatproof surface, then cut into 6 portions and serve with clean utensils. Divide leftovers into shallow containers and refrigerate at 4 °C or below within 2 hours, or 1 hour if the room exceeds 32 °C. Use within a proposed 3 days and reheat a portion only once to 74 °C at the centre. Do not leave the whole dish cooling on the counter for hours.

   
   ×

   White chicken and mushroom lasagna portion showing its layers

The step photos are illustrative.