The name makes it sound more complex than it really is. I love doing this for guests because you can do it ahead and just reheat it when the everyone arrives and they're shocked because you were never in the kitchen. Remove the chicken for a crowd pleasing vegetarian pasta.
You can use fresh spinach and cook it but frozen is just easier. I left it out over night to thaw and took it out of the packaging, placed it in a colander with some weight on it to squeeze the water out. The next day it's still very wet so break it into handful size pieces and make a fist to squeeze the last of the water out. If you skip this step you'll have a soggy dish later.
The last thing to do is to cut it up into fine pieces.
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add salt. About 1 tbsp per liter of water. Cook the pasta of your choice till Al dente.
When the pasta is done drain it and put it back into the pot and add just enough of the bechamel to keep the pasta from sticking to it's self.
First finely dice the shallot and emincé the garlic. Over medium high heat melt the butter and add the shallot and garlic. After a minute continue making the roux. Were going to make a blond roux as in the video's below. Be sure to add the milk slowly a bit at a time and always allow it to come to temperature before mixing or adding more. We want a béchamel about the consistency of yogurt.
I wouldn't roast a chicken specifically for this dish instead I make this dish with the left overs the day after making a roast chicken for the family. You just want to remove all the bones and dice into bit size pieces. 2 cups is just a guide use as much as you wish or non at all if you want the dish to be vegetarian.
Add the diced chicken and spinach to the pot with the pasta already combined with sauce and fold together. Now your ready to assemble.
Grate up the cheese and have the basil washed and ready to go. Don't cut it up as it will turn brown, always tear basil leaves to preserve their color.
In a large casserole dish spread a layer of the pasta mix. Spread a thin layer of bechamel sauce. Tear up basil leaves all over the sauce and lastly spread a layer of grated mozzarella cheese. Season to taste. Repeat that order two more times for three layers total.
I always run short on mozzarella cheese so I grate Parmesan all over the top and then give a nice thin layer of olive oil on top of that. I always make sure to wipe anything that may have split off the edges of the casserole dish or it will burn.
Place into a 375 degree oven for 30 to 40 minutes or till it just looks amazing whichever comes first.
This is a real departure for me as a cook. I did not read a recipe but remembered ingredients I enjoyed in pasta else where and used the skills I've been learning in cooking school to create this dish basically off the top of my head. Even now as I write this I don't remember the exact amount of ingredients I used as the entire dish was done by feel. I'll leave this recipe as a testament to what I've created with my new skill set and encourage anyone that reads this to discover what they can do without a recipe.
