Recently, my brother Scotty went on a fishin’ adventure to the Alagnak River in Alaska. He came back with incredibly pristine and beautiful pictures of the wilderness area where he visited and fished. But, even more importantly, when he returned home he brought with him about 50 pounds of fresh salmon and trout!
In the months following, we had smoked salmon, salmon croquettes, baked soy and ginger salmon, and six different ways to grill that salmon. I mean, if there was a salmon recipe, we cooked it and we ate it! That beautiful piece of fish was so fresh and sweet, we even gave some to a neighbor who later invited us over and made sushi out of it!
So, this here Fresh Salmon Lasagna is just one of the many recipes I used to serve up that fabulous Alagnak River fish. So, thank you Alaska, for providing our family with all these wonderful meals! YUM!
Fresh Salmon Lasagna
Recipe by: Bobbi Jo Lathan
Recipe type: Entree, Brunch
Cuisine: Southern
PREP TIME
10 mins
COOK TIME
60 mins
TOTAL TIME
1 hour 10 mins
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds fresh salmon (cooked and flaked)
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons unbleached flour
3 cups half and half
1 fresh lemon (squeezed for juice)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup gruyere cheese (grated)
8 ounces ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper (freshly ground)
1 teaspoon granulated garlic (or garlic powder)
1 cup onion (chopped)
2 cloves fresh garlic (chopped)
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes (chopped in half)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme (chopped)
8 ounces mozzarella cheese (sliced)
¼ cup of Gruyere (grated for topping)
1 12 pack box of wavy lasagna ( I like Barilla)
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat your oven to 350°.
If you’re not using left-over baked salmon, then salt and pepper your fresh piece of salmon, throw a pat of butter on top of the flesh and bake it in the oven for about 15 or 16 minutes.
Once you take it out and it cools, then flake the cooked fresh salmon into large chunks with a fork and set aside.
Now, I like to parboil my lasagna noodles a little bit (3 or 4 minutes) to soften them up. Ain’t nuthin’ worse than crackly lasagna! Once you take them parboiled noodles out of the boiling water, set them aside in a pan and cover ‘em with a dish towel for assembly of lasagna later.
Next, get yourself a descent sized pot and place it over a medium heat on your stove so we can make the roux/cheese sauce.
Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter and once it’s bubbly.
Add the flour a few tablespoons at a time, and whisk ‘til it’s blended and a little bit browned.
Now, slowly add the half and half, a little at a time, continuously whisking it until it is nice and smoothly blended.
Once it’s smooth and bubbly, add the gruyere cheese and the ricotta cheese, the Dijon mustard, salt and pepper and granulated garlic and blend that ‘til it’s creamy and like a sauce. You can always add a bit more milk if it is too thick, but you do want it more thick than runny.
Git yourself a little fryin’ pan and sauté them chopped onions and freshly chopped garlic in a little tablespoon of olive oil and a pat of butter.
Once the onions are translucent, then turn off the heat.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and set aside with the onion mixture.
Now, you’re ready to assemble your lasagna.
Pour a little of the cheese sauce into a 13”x 9” pan.
Next, place a layer of the precooked lasagna noodles over the sauce.
Now, spread some tomatoes over the lasagna noodles resting on the sauce, and sprinkle the onions and garlic on top of that and then the flaked salmon.
Cover with some more cheese sauce and lay down another layer of noodles.
Cover that layer of noodles with the remaining tomatoes and onion mixture and cheese sauce (If there’s any left) and top with the mozzarella slices and the other ¼ cup of the grated gruyere cheese.
Finish off the top of lasagna with a sprinkle of the fresh thyme.
Bake the lasagna in your oven at 350° for 30 minutes ‘til all brown and bubbly. YUM!