A Lasagna recipe inspired by Thailand

Ingredients:

- 1 lb. Dry lasagna pasta
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 lb. boneless chicken thighs, cut into small chunks
- 1 yellow spanish onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp Tamari sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- The zest from one lime
- 1 tsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
- 1 tsp Thai chili garlic sauce
- 14 oz. can coconut cream or milk
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 8 oz. sliced thinly water chestnuts
- 16 oz. ricotta cheese
- 5 cups grated mozzarella cheese
- 2 beaten eggs
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

I-The chicken
Bring some olive oil to heat in a large frying pan over medium heat setting. Cook the chicken, the chopped onion, one pressed-in clove of garlic, one teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Mix until the chicken thighs are cooked.

II-Fixing the peanut/coconut sauce
Meanwhile, in a large enough bowl pour the rice wine vinegar; mix in the Tamari sauce, the sesame oil, sprinkle the lime zest, the lime juice, ginger, the Thai chili sauce, the coconut cream and the 2 tablespoon peanut butter. Mix thoroughly to blend. Add the water chestnuts to the chicken and cook a little more. Next put the chicken pieces and chestnuts in the bowl with peanut butter/coconut milk and mix; reserve for later.

III-Preparing the cheese layer sauce
In another bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, 4 cups grated mozzarella cheese, the eggs, 1 pressed-in garlic clove, 1 tsp salt, pinch black pepper and the chopped fresh cilantro. Mix until you get a smooth paste.

IV-Boil the noodles, assemble the lasagna and bake!
In boiling salted water, boil the lasagna noodles for 5 minutes; they won't be fully cooked but it's ok since they will finish their cooking in the oven. Reserve the noodles in a little bit of oil so they do not stick to one another.

Preheat the oven to 300 ˚F. Spread some chicken mixture at the bottom of a deep oven-going lasagna pan. Put some noodles over the chicken mixture, to get a nice even layer. Spread some cheese mixture over the layer of noodles. Repeat the layering procedure until all chicken, cheese mixture and noodle ingredients are gone. Cover the pan with foil; put in the oven and bake for 1 hour. Remove the foil cover and sprinkle the 1 cup mozzarella cheese you have left over the top layer and bake for 30 minutes more, or until you get a nice golden brown crust on top. Once baked pull your lasagna out of the oven and allow it to rest so it cools down for at least 15 minutes...