Seafood Lasagna

“The time has come”, the chicken said. If you have been following Buen Provecho since the beginning, you have access as of today to 500 of my recipes! A few have been there since the beginning in March 2011, which is incredible. Many of you are “newbies” to the site and may not be aware of all of the recipes herein.

Probably FAKE NEWS, but my stats show viewers in 118 countries around the world, with 8,305 in USA, 8,177 in Canada and 3,350 in Mexico. The rest are an A to Z spread, from Australia to Zimbabwe…Thank You all so much!

Looking back, I have had many delicious recipes of which you may or may not have been aware. I encourage you to use the search feature to continue to enjoy the site. Alas, this is the FINAL recipe, which in fact appeared in October 2013. It is and has always been one of my favourites of the 500!

It’s certainly a special occasion recipe and involves lots of preparation, but it remains a very special one which I prepare on special occasions with special people, who obviously must enjoy seafood!

SEAFOOD LASAGNA

  • 8 tbsp. butter
  • 8 tbsp. all purpose flour
  • 1 c. cream
  • 1 c. milk
  • chicken broth
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Pinch of nutmeg
  • 1 lb. lasagna, “no boil type”
  • 10 oz. frozen spinach, thaw and drain on paper towels
  • 16 oz. ricotta cheese
  • 8 oz. Manchego cheese
  • 8 oz. provolone cheese
  • 1 can sliced mushrooms
  • 2 sliced onions
  • 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tomato, cut and peeled
  • 1 1/2 lb. seafood (shrimp, crabmeat, scallops, white fish)
  • Parsley and rosemary to taste

To make sauce, melt butter and add flour. Take it off the burner, add cream, milk and broth. Put back on burner. Stir constantly. When everything is mixed, take it off the fire. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg. To make lasagna, sauté onions and mushrooms in butter and oil. Add tomato, parsley and rosemary. Add seafood. In a greased lasagna pan, pour some sauce, place some lasagna, seafood, mozzarella, ricotta and chopped spinach mixed, provolone, and press it down before you begin second layer. Follow same order as first layer, ending with lasagna strips and sauce. Be sure to generously cover with sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 – 40 minutes.

Buen provecho amigos!!!

Advertisement

Shopska Salad

A day late this week, as we just returned from vacation in Ontario, Canada. While there we had this wonderful salad in a Serbian restaurant. In researching, I came to see the same recipe listed as Croatian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, etc. Nevertheless, it was great. It is important to dice the vegetables as indicated. If not, you may think you are making a Greek salad as the ingredients are very similar without the black olives!

Shopska Salad

Servings 6

  • 1 large beefsteak tomato about or the same amount of regular tomatoes
  • 3 mini cucumbers each about 15 cm/ 6 inches long or a regular long cucumber
  • 3 bell peppers red, yellow and green
  • 1 medium onion red or white
  • 1 handful fresh parsley
  • 3 tablespoons sunflower oil
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar to taste
  • 1 cup feta cheese
  • fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Chop the tomatoes into cubes. Halve and chop the mini cucumbers. If using a large cucumber, remove the seeds with a tablespoon. Chop the bell peppers. Finely chop the onion and the parsley.

2. Mix all the vegetables in a large bowl.

3. Dressing: whisk together the sunflower oil, red wine vinegar, fine sea salt, and pepper. Add to the salad and stir.

4. Crumble the creamy feta on top of the salad. Sprinkle cheese on the salad or mash it with a fork and smear on top of the salad. You can also crumble it and stir it into the salad.

5. Adjust the taste with salt and pepper and more vinegar, if you like it.

Bacon Mushroom Spinach Frittata

When you wake up an hour or so before your spouse you might as well make a nice breakfast, right? If you have too many eggs and spinach you might as well put them to use. “Alexa, what can I make?” Oops, I forgot I don’t use Alexa. “Pinterest, what can I make?”

Firstly if you did not already know it, a frittata is essentially an omelette which you prepare in an ovenproof skillet and finish in the oven. This can be used for breakfast, lunch or dinner…so give it a try!

20191130_075637

I N G RE D I E N T S:

  • 5 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • Dash of hot sauce (optional)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 4 slices bacon, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • 8 ounces cremini mushrooms or whatever you have on hand, thinly sliced
  • 2 cups baby spinach fresh or a small package of frozen unthawed
  • 1 Roma tomato, diced
  • small red pepper chopped for colour

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, basil, oregano, thyme and hot sauce; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.
  3. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until brown and crispy, about 6-8 minutes, reserving 1 tablespoon excess fat. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. (OR cheat and use precooked bacon)
  4. Add garlic and mushrooms to the skillet (adding a little oil if using precooked bacon), and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 3-4 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  5. Stir in spinach and tomato until the spinach begins to wilt, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in egg mixture and bacon, reserving 2 tablespoons, until well combined. Cook, undisturbed, until edges are set, about 2 minutes. Top with remaining bacon.
  6. Place into oven and bake until top is set and golden brown, about 14-15 minutes.
  7. Serve immediately.

 

Chilled Avocado-Cilantro Soup

Hard to imagine on this very cold Sunday morning that anyone in Canada might be interested in a cold soup…LOL. Nevertheless, I have had a request for this soup from a dear friend in Burlington who enjoys a similar soup at our friend Valeries’ The Pickled Onion B and B in Santa Elena. Alas, it is NOT Valerie’s recipe (family secret), but it has been tested by Larry and I and it is a winner!

Ina Pinkney’s Chilled Avocado-Cilantro Soup

  • 1 2/3 large ripe fresh California avocados- peeled and pitted
  • 2 cup chicken stock (canned low sodium)
  • 2/3 Tbsp. lime juice
  • ½ cup yogurt- plain, low fat
  • ¼ cup sour cream or cottage cheese
  • 1 tomato – large, peeled and seeded or 10 or 12 cherry tomatoes whole
  • ¼ cup cilantro – fresh, chopped
  • salt to taste
  • hot sauce for garnish

Instructions

  1. Put 1 1/2 the avocados, stock, lime juice, yogurt and sour cream in a blender.
  2. Blend until smooth.
  3. Add the tomato and cilantro and pulse just until the tomato is coarsely chopped.
  4. Coarsely chop the remaining half of avocado and stir into the soup.
  5. Chill for several hours.
  6. Serve with a dash of hot sauce (optional)
  7. A dollop of sour cream on the surface of the soup, stirred with a toothpick to make a swirl. You could add a few croutons!

Makes 4 generous servings…

*Large avocados are recommended for this recipe. A large avocado averages about 8 ounces. If using smaller or larger size avocados adjust the quantity according