Chicken, mushroom and spinach lasagne

Ingredients

Method

1. 1.Add the chicken breasts to a large saucepan with the bay leaves, cover with cold water, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes, until cooked through.
2. 2.Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for 7-8 minutes, until the mushrooms have released their liquid.
3. 3.Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted right down. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
4. 4.Lift out the cooked chicken (discard the water and bay leaves), shred it with two forks, then stir it through the mushroom and spinach mixture and set aside.
5. 5.Make the cheese sauce: melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, slowly, so that it never bubbles.
6. 6.Add all of the flour and mix to a smooth paste, then leave it for a minute.
7. 7.Pour in all of the milk and turn the heat up to medium-high.
8. 8.Keep stirring until all of the paste has dissolved: scrape it off the spoon and take the spoon right around the bottom and sides of the pan.
9. 9.Keep stirring until the sauce comes up to a bubble, then turn off the heat.
10. 10.Add the grated cheddar and stir until it has melted and dissolved into the sauce.
11. 11.Layer up in a large ovenproof dish: a layer of the chicken mixture, then lasagne sheets, then cheese sauce. Repeat until everything is used up, finishing with lasagne sheets topped with a final layer of cheese sauce.
12. 12.Mix the grated parmesan, dried basil and breadcrumbs together and scatter over the top.
13. 13.To freeze, cover the dish tightly with cling film and then foil.

How to cook