A Weekend Lasagna 🍅🇮🇹

It was my first time baking the lasagna. I cook casserole often. It’s time to cook something different.

I watched a few videos on YouTube beforehand to make sure everything would come out well. Hopefully, nothing much went wrong. 🤞🏼

I’ve had it before at some party and it’s probably not my cup of tea. But since we had already bought the lasagna sheets, Michael wanted me to give it a try. He said it’s basically like a casserole, you just bake it.

But lasagna has its own thing going on and quite nervous at the beginning—the layering, the structure, all the little details.

I’m quietly drawn to moments like this—taking the time to cook something good, something fun, yet healthy. And maybe I like lasagna now.

Ingredients

12 dry lasagna sheets (no pre-boil)
625 g ground chicken breast
3 cans crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 onion, finely chopped
8–9 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup diced carrot
½ cup chopped celery leaves/stalks
500 g cottage cheese
2 eggs
450–500 g shredded cheese (mozzarella or pizza blend)
4–5 tbsp milk
olive oil
chopped cilantro (added at the end)

Chicken seasoning

1 tsp light soy sauce
½ tsp coriander root powder
½ tsp garlic powder
¼–½ tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Step 1: Season & Brown the Chicken

I always marinate chicken. I like the taste of umami in the chicken, I don’t like it too plain. I mix the chicken with the seasoning, then rest for 10–15 minutes.

Pan over medium heat for 3–4 minutes until slightly cooked and crumbly.
Once cooked, put it aside.

Step 2: Build the Tomato Sauce

In the same pan:

Sauté onion, carrot, and celery in olive oil (medium heat) until soft.
Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
Add crushed tomatoes.
Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute. I didn’t use much salt because we’ll get it from the marinated chicken.
Return chicken to the pan.
Simmer 15–20 minutes until thick but still saucy.
Taste and adjust.
Turn off the heat and stir in chopped cilantro.

The sauce should be thick but not watery.