Cheesy chicken & spinach pasta bake

Name: Cheesy chicken & spinach pasta bake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 2 tsp Essential Olive Oil; 560 g pack Essential British Chicken Thigh Fillets, cut into bitesized pieces; 750 g bag frozen Essential Leaf Spinach, defrosted; 250 g ricotta; 60 g Waitrose Duchy Organic Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano DOP; 2 clove/s garlic, crushed; 500 g jar Cooks' Ingredients Bechamel; 8 Essential Lasagne Sheets, roughly snapped; 75 g grated mozzarella; 2 tbsp pine nuts, to serve

Topped with spinach and plenty of cheese, this bake is easy to make and sure to be a family favourite. Serve with a dressed green salad.

3 out of 5 stars(2) Rate this recipe

Serves6
CourseMain meal
Prepare10 mins
Cook50 mins
Total time1 hr
Plusdefrosting

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Ingredients

2 tsp Essential Olive Oil
560g pack Essential British Chicken Thigh Fillets, cut into bitesized pieces
½ x 750g bag frozen Essential Leaf Spinach, defrosted
250g ricotta
60g Waitrose Duchy Organic Shaved Parmigiano Reggiano DOP
2 clove/s garlic, crushed
500g jar Cooks' Ingredients Bechamel
8 Essential Lasagne Sheets, roughly snapped
75g grated mozzarella
2 tbsp pine nuts, to serve

Method

Heat the oil in a wide, deep, ovenproof frying or sauté pan, about 30cm. Season the chicken and cook over a medium heat for 12-15 minutes until deep golden in places, no pink meat remains and the juices run clear.
As the chicken cooks, drain the spinach in a colander, then squeeze out the water until it weighs about 175g. Chop, then mix with 175g ricotta and 25g parmesan, finely crumbled. Season to taste.
Sizzle the garlic with the chicken until fragrant, then stir in the bechamel and 25g parmesan. Swish the bottle with 200ml water to catch the leftover sauce, then stir it in. Season. Preheat the oven to 180ºC, gas mark 4.
Simmer the sauce gently and tuck in the lasagne shards at random. Dot the ricotta spinach over top with the mozzarella, the remaining ricotta, pine nuts and the remaining crumbled parmesan. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until bubbling and golden and the pasta is tender. Grind over some black pepper to serve.