Lasagna of Chicken Polpettine
(Chicken balls layered with pasta sheets and broth)

A traditional wedding dish cooked at home in the old days in Italy for the marriage of a daughter. The bride's family would prepare for weeks for the party. And, as the bride dressed in white, so white dishes were served. This dish with the white chicken and the white sheets of pasta was a great favourite

You can make your own lasagna sheets if you wish but the pre-prepared sheets are quite suitable and save a lot of time.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 kilo chicken (part used for this dish and the rest can be used for another recipe and make a main course for 6 also Using All the Chicken
1 medium carrot
1 large onion
2 celery sticks
50 grams parmesan
parsley
salt, pepper, nutmeg
1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk
(breadcrumbs - optional)
400 grams fior di latte cheese
4 stalks parsley, chopped
Lasagna sheets

Method

To make stock

Take the whole chicken and cut off the back (save the breasts and the two drumsticks. This will make another meal for at least 4 if you cut the breasts in half. Two drumsticks and two breasts - cut in half = 6.

If you have a soup for entree. then roast off the chicken pieces and serve with vegetables and you have an ideal winter meal.

Put the chicken bones, carrots, onions and celery in a large pot and cover with water, then cook for 1 1/2 hours. It is not so important to skim this stock, it does not have to be super clear, it can be a little cloudy because it is being used for lasagna.

Polpettine

Strip all the meat from the chicken bones and carcass and mince. There should be most meat on the top part of the legs (the rest are used for another dish)

Add a little parmesan and chopped parsley, the egg and yolk, salt, pepper and grated nutmeg.

Fold the mixture over and over with your hands, fold and press down with your fingers to mix . Mixture should be quite wet, but if is too wet, you can add a few breadcrumbs. The polpettine should be very light and delicate so it is best not to use breadcrumbs but this depends on the size of the egg, you have to judge this for yourself.

Take two teaspoons, with one take up mixture and then shape with the other (as in making a quenelle or egg shape). However the polpettine don't have to be perfectly formed, they can be a bit rough as they are combined with the cheeses on the lasagna sheets.
Note If you are in a hurry you can bake off the mixture like a pizza and then cut into shapes

If the mixture is left to dry a little, it becomes easier to handle. Take the polpettine balls, strain off some of the stock and bring back to boil and then poach them lightly in the chicken stock. Just blanch, don't cook through. Then take off heat but leave in the broth. (Do not fry first, the fried flavour is wrong for this dish)

To assemble using pre-prepared lasagna sheets Lasagna Dough

Take a casserole dish. Put broth at bottom, then lasagna sheets, then polpettine then Fior di Latte, then freshly grated parmesan and keep on assembling layers. Use up all the broth and finish with cheese. Then cover tightly with foil and put in oven at 250 degrees C for 25-30 minutes. It's important that the steam is kept in.