Recipe Seafood Lasagna

I love lasagna and I love seafood, so why not?

Wanting something that is decadent, but not too heavy.
Layers of goodness and not blobs of mess.
Rich, but lite at the same time.

So, for the seafood, its lobster season, so why not lobster, and then some scallops & shrimp.
For the sauce, a béchamel flavored with shallots & garlic, made with a lobster/shrimp stock.
Naturally this will involve cheese and noodles, perhaps some mushrooms would be nice vegetable to balance all the richness of the other ingredients.

Recipe-
Seafood Lasagna

Ingredients-
Lobster, 2 whole-1 ½ lbs. each, split, tail meat removed and cut into sections, shells & carcass reserved
Shrimp, 1 lb. 16-20 count, peeled deveined, sliced down the middle
Scallops, 1 lb. diver scallops, sliced into chunks
Onion, 1 small coarsely chopped
Celery, 3 stalks coarsely chopped
Carrots, 1 coarsely chopped
Peppercorns, 1 T
Thyme, 3 sprigs
Parsley, 1 bunch
Bay leaf
Shallots, 3 large
Garlic, 8 cloves
Butter, 2 T
Flour, 2 T
Heavy Cream, 1 pint
Half & Half, 1 pint
Nutmeg, 1/8th t
White pepper
Olive oil, 1 T
Portabella Mushrooms, 1 pint sliced
Ricotta cheese, 1 pint
Mozzarella cheese, 1 ½ C
Parmigiano-Reggiano ½ C
Lasagna Noodles, used whole wheat
Key West Spice Company® SOUTHERNMOST BLEND
Salt and Pepper

Equipment-
Two large pots
Large strainer
Two smaller pots
Ladle
Wooden spoons
Small bowls
Steamer insert
Colander
Lasagna Pan or deep baking pan

Directions-
Split lobsters and remove meat from shells, cut tail meat into bit sized sections, season with a few pinches of SOUTHERNMOST BLEND, cover and refrigerate for now. Rinse and reserve shells and carcasses for stock.
Peel, devein and slice shrimp down the middle, season with a few pinches of SOUTHERNMOST BLEND then cover and refrigerate. Rinse and reserve shells for stock.
Place a large (10 quart sized pot) of cold water onto the stove.
Add the very well rinsed shrimp & lobster shells, chopped onions, carrots, celery, peppercorns, sprig of thyme, 4 smashed garlic cloves, bay leaf, couple sprigs of parsley, pinch of salt.
Bring to a boil over medium high heat and reduce to simmer for at least 30 minutes, scrapping any foam coming to the top.
Remove from heat, strain liquid into another large pot.
While stock is simmering, chop & season scallops with a few pinches of SOUTHERNMOST BLEND, cover and refrigerate.

Place small pot on the stove, over medium heat add 2 T Butter, once melted add 2 T flour.
Stir constantly with a wooden spoon, making a roux.
In another small pot place heavy cream and half & half over medium heat until it begins to scald.
Reduce roux pot heat to low and ladle cream mixture into the roux.
Once all the cream has been added, season with salt, white pepper, nutmeg, add 2 sliced shallots, 4 cloves chopped garlic, 1 t minced fresh thyme, 1 t minced fresh oregano.
Season to taste and if it’s too thick, can be carefully thinned out with some of the lobster stock.

Pour lobster/shrimp stock into a large pot that you have a lid for and that’s big enough to cook the lasagna noodles and can hold a steamer insert to steam the reserved shrimp and lobster.
Bring stock to a simmer, fit with steamer insert and steam reserved shrimp and lobster about ¾ of the way separately. Place the partially steamed lobster and shrimp into separate ice baths to stop the cooking.
With steamer insert removed, bring to a boil and add lasagna noodles.
Cook to about al dente, move and place in ice bath to stop the cooking.

In another pot add 1 T olive oil, turning heat to medium high, add 1 sliced shallot, 2 cloves minced garlic, and sliced mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper, sauté for a few minutes.

Heat oven to 375° F.
In lasagna pan first ladle some of the béchamel sauce on the bottom.
Follow with single layer of the cooked and chilled past noodles.
Then on the pasta noodles smear a thin layer of ricotta cheese, followed with a the seafood, spacing the seafood along the noodles, altering the shrimp, lobster, and scallops, sprinkle a thin layer of mozzarella followed by the parmesan, then a little béchamel.
Repeat with the noodles, ricotta, seafood, cheeses, béchamel, finishing with the noodles, cheese, then mushrooms and any remaining pieces of seafood.

Place into preheated oven and bake for about 35 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes before digging in.
With a small salad, this could serve 9 people just fine.

Enjoy with some crusty French bread.
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