Title: Lasagna of Pacific Salmon with Spinach and Tomato Ginger
Categories: Pasta Salmon
Yield: 4 Servings

1 1/2	lb	Salmon
4		Pcs Spinach Pasta Sheets
		(4"x4")
8		Pcs Plain Pasta Sheets
		(4"x4")
1	lb	Spinach (washed and stems
		Removed)
6		Tomatoes peeled and cut in
		Strips
1		Clove Garlic (finely
		Chopped)
1	c	Cream
2	tb	Shallots (chopped finely)
2	c	White Wine (dry)
2		" pc. Ginger (smashed)
8	oz	Butter
		Juice from half a lemon
2	tb	Olive Oil
		Taste Salt and Pepper,
		Chives

Place 1 Tblsp shallots, smashed ginger and white wine in a pot and reduce until dry. Remove the ginger when half reduced. Add 1 Tblsp Cream and whip in the butter, add lemon juice and seasoning and set aside.

Wilt the spinach in a skillet with 1 Tblsp Olive Oil and 1 Tblsp Shallots. Add the rest of the cream. Season with salt and white pepper. Keep hot and set aside. Saute tomato and garlic with 1 Tblsp Olive Oil in a hot skillet. Keep hot.

Cook pasta sheets in lots of boiling water until al dente. Heat a cast iron skillet very hot. Sprinkle some salt in the skillet and grill the salmon in it for 10 seconds on each side. Set aside.

Place 1 plain pasta sheet in the center of the plate, cover with 1 Tblsp creamed spinach and place 1 slice of salmon on top. Place some sauteed tomatoes on top of salmon. Cover with 1 green pasta sheet and repeat the previous steps. Cover with a plain pasta sheet. Place 1 slice of salmon on top and finish with some tomato. Pour sauce around the lasagna and garnish with chive sticks.

And here's what I did to make it a casserole dish:

Made my own pasta (regular and spinach), rolled out sheets, but didn't cut. One recipe of each makes plenty for this dish with enough left over to do it a second time if you wish.

Put the shallots, ginger and wine in a saucepan and reduce, but not all the way until dry. I think I left about 1/2 - 3/4 cup liquid in the pan. Since this is now not plate dressing but a sauce to go between layers, I wanted more liquid and more volume. Instead of 1 Tbsp cream, I added about a half cup, and then whisked in the butter and lemon juice (and BTW, I can only make an educated guess at what is meant by "half Juice from half a lemon -- I used the juice of half a lemon and didn't find it overwhelming, so that's what I'm sticking with). Doing it this way, I think next time I'd cut back on the butter a bit. I think the dish was a tad greasier than I'd like it to have been. Set aside.

Prepare the spinach and tomato concoctions as directed. For the "6 pcs Tomato" I used 6 plum tomatoes, seeded. I didn't skin them, and didn't notice any problem with that when eating the dish, so you can skip that step if you like.

Didn't bother cooking the pasta sheets.

Prepare the salmon as directed, but don't do what I did. I set my skillet on the burner and turned in on. Then went downstairs to grab the salmon from the fridge. Opened the package to see which pieces I wanted to use (I bought 3 lbs so I could double the recipe, then thought better of it). Grabbed the fillets I wanted, realized I should probably skin them. Went about doing that, and in the meantime, burnt the seasoning right off my skillet. Used it anyway to sear the fish, and worried about reseasoning later. It worked fine in that condition, BTW. After searing, I cut the fillets on the bias into manageable chunks.

To assemble, pour a little sauce in the bottom of a greased lasagna pan. Add a layer of plain pasta sheets. Spread on half the spinach mixture, lay on half the salmon pieces, plop spoonfuls of the tomato stuff around, and drizzle on 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat the layers, this time with the spinach pasta sheets. Finish with plain pasta sheets, and the rest of the sauce.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or so. In retrospect, I'd cover it with aluminum foil for the first 30 minutes of baking, because I thought the top sheet of pasta got a little too dry and crispy.

B. Keith Ryder bkeith@netcom.com Rec.food.baking From: Maryf

previous

next