I made it to yoga, which was a good thing because the salmon lasagna was not the lightest fare. What it was: creamy, full of flavor and just really good!
So here is how it went....
The Salmon:
I picked up a little over a 1/2 a pound of fresh salmon from Sunflower Farmer's Market in Denver before I went home. I was a beautiful piece of fish and only $7.99 a pound! I was thrilled and excited to cook.
When I got home I heated the oven to 350 degrees, washed and dried the salmon and salted it with sea salt. I placed the fish onto a piece of foil, which I placed onto a baking sheet.
The week before I made a sun dried tomato basil pesto that I flavored with pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, red pepper flakes and salt. I decided the salmon needed a kick, so I coated the fish with a thick layer of the pesto and put it in the oven to cook for about 30 minutes.
So here is how it went....
The Salmon:
I picked up a little over a 1/2 a pound of fresh salmon from Sunflower Farmer's Market in Denver before I went home. I was a beautiful piece of fish and only $7.99 a pound! I was thrilled and excited to cook.
When I got home I heated the oven to 350 degrees, washed and dried the salmon and salted it with sea salt. I placed the fish onto a piece of foil, which I placed onto a baking sheet.
The week before I made a sun dried tomato basil pesto that I flavored with pine nuts, garlic, lemon juice, red pepper flakes and salt. I decided the salmon needed a kick, so I coated the fish with a thick layer of the pesto and put it in the oven to cook for about 30 minutes.
For the sauce, I started by heating 1 cup of heavy cream and 1.5 cups of whole milk to a simmer.
Then I blended 2 cups of fresh basil, about 2 teaspoons of rosemary and thyme, 4 cloves of garlic and a hand full of pine nuts together in the food processor. After the basil, rosemary, thyme, garlic and pine nuts were chopped I took the lid off, scraped the sides into the bowl of the processor (you must do this to make good pesto!) and pulsed the ingredients some more while slowly adding olive oil, about 2 tablespoons. The pesto smelled delicious, but it needed a kick - so I grabbed the sun dried tomato and basil pesto I used for the salmon and added about 2 tablespoons to the bowl and blended, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
After the milk was heated and the pesto was finished I added half the simmering milk to the food processor and blended it with the pesto until it thickened. Then I placed the processed pesto and cream to the pot with the remaining milk and stirred. I actually stirred in about 1.5 tablespoons more of the sun dried tomato pesto into the sauce for some extra flavor. Then I added sea salt to taste and the juice of half a lemon. I stirred the sauce and let it thicken while it cooked at a low heat.
While the sauce thickened I toasted about a half cup of pine nuts and added 1/4 cup of the toasted nuts to the sauce and set the rest aside.
While the sauce was thickening, I chopped and sauteed 2 yellow squash from a co-worker's garden that I got earlier in the day, then I chopped 3 Roma tomatoes and about 2 cups of fresh spinach. I also grabbed 12 ounces of ricotta, salted it and stirred it together. Usually I would add one egg to bind the cheese but I forgot to buy eggs at the market....these things happen!
After the salmon was cooked through I pulled it from the oven and left the oven heated at 350 degrees for the lasagna.
I pulled the fish apart into small pieces. They were irresistible! I had to try it! I put a little bit of the salmon in a bowl and covered it with the basil sauce. It was SO good. I added some more fish and sauce to the bowl and gave it to my husband who I knew was starving, but waited patiently as I raced around the kitchen throwing ingredients here and there. I could tell from the way his eyes lit up and the bob of his head and shoulders that I did something right. I couldn't wait to get to the lasagna!
For the lasagna I used no boil noodles to save time. The kind you boil are definitely better and homemade are even better. But at 8:45 at night, after a long day, quick, easy and less mess is very attractive and many times wins over what is preferable. My thought was that if the noodles were not ideal, I would focus on the flavor and make it the center of attention.
Excuse my aside...I will continue.
First I covered the bottom of my baking dish with a thin layer of the basil cream sauce. Next, I added a layer of the noodles to cover the bottom of the dish and added a layer of sauce, ricotta, spinach, squash, tomatoes, salmon and topped it with more sauce. I added another layer of noodles and topped them in the same order and covered it with with a final layer of noodles. On top of the last layer of noodles I spread the last of the sauce and topped the sauce with a generous amount of Mozzarella, Asiago and Parmesan cheeses.
I covered the lasagna with foil and baked it at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. After the lasagna looked close to done I removed the foil and placed the remaining toasted pine nuts on top of the cheese and baked the dish for another 15 minutes and then I broiled it until the cheese and pine nuts were perfectly browned.
I let the lasagna sit for about 15 minutes and then cut into squares and served it up! The flavors were robust and balanced the cream in the sauce perfectly. The salmon was delicious and stood out well against the heavier ingredients. And, the vegetables were nice bit of freshness in a sea of creamy indulgence!
As for the movie, we watched "I Love You Man".
The dish was heavy, the mood was light, the feeling was luxurious.
Then I blended 2 cups of fresh basil, about 2 teaspoons of rosemary and thyme, 4 cloves of garlic and a hand full of pine nuts together in the food processor. After the basil, rosemary, thyme, garlic and pine nuts were chopped I took the lid off, scraped the sides into the bowl of the processor (you must do this to make good pesto!) and pulsed the ingredients some more while slowly adding olive oil, about 2 tablespoons. The pesto smelled delicious, but it needed a kick - so I grabbed the sun dried tomato and basil pesto I used for the salmon and added about 2 tablespoons to the bowl and blended, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
After the milk was heated and the pesto was finished I added half the simmering milk to the food processor and blended it with the pesto until it thickened. Then I placed the processed pesto and cream to the pot with the remaining milk and stirred. I actually stirred in about 1.5 tablespoons more of the sun dried tomato pesto into the sauce for some extra flavor. Then I added sea salt to taste and the juice of half a lemon. I stirred the sauce and let it thicken while it cooked at a low heat.
While the sauce thickened I toasted about a half cup of pine nuts and added 1/4 cup of the toasted nuts to the sauce and set the rest aside.
While the sauce was thickening, I chopped and sauteed 2 yellow squash from a co-worker's garden that I got earlier in the day, then I chopped 3 Roma tomatoes and about 2 cups of fresh spinach. I also grabbed 12 ounces of ricotta, salted it and stirred it together. Usually I would add one egg to bind the cheese but I forgot to buy eggs at the market....these things happen!
After the salmon was cooked through I pulled it from the oven and left the oven heated at 350 degrees for the lasagna.
I pulled the fish apart into small pieces. They were irresistible! I had to try it! I put a little bit of the salmon in a bowl and covered it with the basil sauce. It was SO good. I added some more fish and sauce to the bowl and gave it to my husband who I knew was starving, but waited patiently as I raced around the kitchen throwing ingredients here and there. I could tell from the way his eyes lit up and the bob of his head and shoulders that I did something right. I couldn't wait to get to the lasagna!
For the lasagna I used no boil noodles to save time. The kind you boil are definitely better and homemade are even better. But at 8:45 at night, after a long day, quick, easy and less mess is very attractive and many times wins over what is preferable. My thought was that if the noodles were not ideal, I would focus on the flavor and make it the center of attention.
Excuse my aside...I will continue.
First I covered the bottom of my baking dish with a thin layer of the basil cream sauce. Next, I added a layer of the noodles to cover the bottom of the dish and added a layer of sauce, ricotta, spinach, squash, tomatoes, salmon and topped it with more sauce. I added another layer of noodles and topped them in the same order and covered it with with a final layer of noodles. On top of the last layer of noodles I spread the last of the sauce and topped the sauce with a generous amount of Mozzarella, Asiago and Parmesan cheeses.
I covered the lasagna with foil and baked it at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes. After the lasagna looked close to done I removed the foil and placed the remaining toasted pine nuts on top of the cheese and baked the dish for another 15 minutes and then I broiled it until the cheese and pine nuts were perfectly browned.
I let the lasagna sit for about 15 minutes and then cut into squares and served it up! The flavors were robust and balanced the cream in the sauce perfectly. The salmon was delicious and stood out well against the heavier ingredients. And, the vegetables were nice bit of freshness in a sea of creamy indulgence!
As for the movie, we watched "I Love You Man".
The dish was heavy, the mood was light, the feeling was luxurious.
The dish sounds great, but so late at night do you find it hard to sleep?
ReplyDeleteWe are pretty used to eating late...8:00 to 9:00 most nights. Usually, lasagna and heavier dishes are reserved for the weekend...but the idea was stuck in my head, so I had to make it. : )
ReplyDelete