Green Onion/Scallion

Seafood Lasagna

by:
January 22, 2011
3.5
2 Ratings
  • Serves 6
Author Notes

This is decadent. It is a helluva lot of work. It is also the single most dramatically delicious recipe I know how to make, and if I am having a dinner party on which depends my next job or a major contract, this is what I'm making. I'm serving it with a lovely stir-fry of something green, like snow peas or asparagus, and some gently roasted plum tomatos, and copious quantities of Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, and chocolate pots de creme for dessert, and when everyone leaves, I will have a nervous breakdown. But before they leave, their eyes will roll back in their heads and they will sigh in ecstasy, because this? Is just wonderful. (You have no photo because I haven't made this in four or five years, and I'm not ambitious enough to make it this week.) ((Nods to Emeril Lagasse, whose Coquille St. Jacques recipe forms much of the base for this.) —Kayb

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 6 ounces lump crabmeat, picked over
  • 8 ounces freshest possible scallops
  • 1 pound Gulf shrimp
  • 1 lemon, sliced
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons minced shallot
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 6 ounces white mushrooms, caps only, wiped clean
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1 pinch cayenne
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh tarragon
  • 1/4 cup sliced scallions, white and light green parts only
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup shredded Gruyere or Emmenthaler
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 tablespoon melted butter
  • 1 pound fresh lasagna noodles
  • 8 ounces ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • 3 tablespoons minced parsley
Directions
  1. Steam crabmeat (or have it steamed for you) and allow to cool.
  2. Blend crabmeat with ricotta cheese and tarragon, and set aside.
  3. Put scallops, wine, water, onion, lemon and bay leaf in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Poach scallops just until firm, about 3 minutes. Remove scallops from poaching liquid, and set aside.
  4. Add shrimp to poaching water in same saucepan. Poach until just turning opaque. Remove from water and set aside to cool.Strain and reserve poaching liquid; discard lemon and bay leaf.
  5. Shell and devein shrimp and chop roughly. Chop scallops roughly, and add to shrimp.
  6. In a clean saucepan, melt 2 tbsp butter and saute shallots and garlic over medium heat until translucent. Slice mushrooms and add. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms are tender, about four minutes. Remove from pan.
  7. Add remaning butter to same pan and melt. Stir in flour and cook, stirring or whisking constantly, until flour smells nutty; do NOT let it start to brown.
  8. Slowly add reserved poaching liquid, whisking constantly, and cook until starting to thicken. Add milk, lemon juice, salt, pepper and cayenne and bring to a bare boil. Add parsley and green onions, and cook for a minute or two. Add 1/2 of grated Gruyere or Emmenthaler, and remove from heat, stirring to melt cheese. Stir in heavy cream, and keep sauce warm.
  9. Cook pasta. Working quickly, brush the bottom of a buttered 9 x 13 casserole with a bit of the sauce, and lay down a layer of noodles. Top with ricotta/crab mixture, half the remaining Gruyere/Emmenthaler, and 1/3 of sauce.
  10. Add a second layer of noodles. Cover with chopped shrimp and scallops, another 1/3 of the grated cheese, and 1/3 of the sauce.
  11. Add a final layer of noodles, and top with the remainign granted cheese. Spread sauce over.
  12. Mix grated Parm and bread crumbs and top casserole. Bake at 450 for a scant 10 minutes, and finish off in broiler, if need be, to give the top a nice golden brown finish. Let rest for no more than 10 minutes before serving.
  13. Note: I have prevailed on a pasta-making friend to make me special lasagna noodles for this, and cut them to fit my 9 x 13 dish. I then boil them one sheet at a time in a big roaster placed across two burners.
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Kayb
I'm a business professional who learned to cook early on, and have expanded my tastes and my skills as I've traveled and been exposed to new cuisines and new dishes. I love fresh vegetables, any kind of protein on the grill, and breakfasts that involve fried eggs with runny yolks. My recipes tend toward the simple and the Southern, with bits of Asia or the Mediterranean or Mexico thrown in here and there. And a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a float in the lake, as pictured, is a pretty fine lunch!

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3 Reviews

Jane M.
Jane M. November 18, 2018
I spent most of the day shopping for and making this dish. It is very good, but not worth the time investment for me. I did prepare it a couple of hours before serving in order to clean up a bit. Let’s face it, the kitchen was strewn with multiple pans, torn noodles stuck to the counter and seafood mess. Because I refrigerated it after assembling I needed to bake it longer. The yummy sauce was much thinner than expected and I’m not sure why.
If you do take this on, I would suggest reading through the recipe instructions and reorganizing the ingredient list chronologically. Also, there was no indication of where to put the mushrooms so they went into my sauce.
Good luck!
 
Wicko
Wicko September 18, 2015
I want to make this! To what extent can I prep ahead of time? I.e. Can I poach the shellfish the day before? Can I refrigerate the assembled but unbaked lasagne?
 
hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour January 23, 2011
Sounds like heaven!