Growing up in the arctic part of Norway, I was blessed having endless access to the most gourmet fish, freshly caught from the local ocean, lake or river by my Dad. Fish was cheap, easily available and typically a fish-dish found its way to our dinner table three times per week. Since moving to Australia, I must admit that my fish-consumption has gone down the drain. One reason is that fish doesn't quite taste the same as when it's caught and prepared by my Dad. Even salmon, which I used to love, doesn't smell "quite right" and has a strange after-taste when bought in my local, suburban-Brisbane Woollies. Therefore I am so happy to have found this recipe! Thank you thank you thank you to the lovely Linn from "Sprudlende sunn blogg"who posted it on her blog some weeks ago. The secret with this recipe is that it camouflages the salmon-odor between layers of delicious spinach-sauce, bechamel-sauce and garlic. What I'm talking about is salmon lasagne. Preparing this dish once per week will make sure I up my fish-intake considerable. Well, enough blabbing, here it goes:
Fish-base
500 g salmon fillets
Bake the salmon fillets with some salt and pepper on 200 degrees C for around 15 minutes. Continue with the other steps while the salmon is in the oven.
Spinach-sauce:
(It's not really a sauce, but I lack a better word)
500 g frozen spinach
3 tablespoons butter
1 finely chopped red onion
2 stems of chopped spring onion
A pinch of salt
Mix ingredients in a pot and let simmer for a few minutes
Lasagna-plates
I used the recipe from my lasagne-post:http://aussie-lowcarb-living.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/lasagne.html
Bechamel-sauce
2 heaped tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
500 ml full cream milk
120 g shredded cheese
2 gloves of garlic
Salt and pepper
Melt the butter in a pot, stir in flour and add the milk little by little. When thickened, add the garlic and the cheese.
Now is the time to admit I did something very very naughty: I used white flour....(the shock! The horror!) But I reckoned it was a very small amount, and when I calculated the nutritional values (see below) it wasn't too bad. However, I'd be happy to receive some tips on what can be used in stead to get that silky, bechamel-feeling.
Combining the layers:
Mash the baked salmon with a fork. Place about half of the salmon in a buttered oven-safe dish.
Place a layer of the spinach-sauce on top of the fish.
On top of that, spread about half of the lasagne-plates.
Cover with a layer of the bechamel-sauce.
Add another layer: Salmon, then spinach, then bechamel sauce and lasagne-plates.
Cover with more shredded cheese (I ended up using 90 grams). Put it into the oven and bake on 200 degrees C for around 15 minutes. Let the lasagne rest for 5 minutes before you enjoy this little piece of heaven.
The recipe is a little bit cumbersome, but so worth spending some extra time on, as it gave the two of us dinner for 3 days (a total of six servings)The approximate nutritional values per serving is as following:
- kcal: 430
- Carbs: 7 g
- Protein: 31 g
- Fat: 31 g
(Not bad, considering that some of the evil, white stuff found it's way into the dish)
I have amended the recipe slightly from Linn's original.
Note to myself: Next time I make it, I'll try with a bit more fish, perhaps around 750 grams.
