The lasagna with salmon and broccoli rabe is a delicious fish main course, light and with a delicate flavor. They are very easy, great to prepare during the holidays or as a Sunday lunch, but especially for an Easter lunch. The béchamel, scented with fresh chives, is very delicate and does not cover the taste of either the salmon or the broccoli rabe. The chives give the dish a very pleasant and fresh aroma.
Advice to use fresh pasta sheets because they cook quickly, especially if we use raw salmon. This way, we avoid the salmon, whose flesh also cooks in a few minutes, becoming tough and dry.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 9 oz fresh pasta sheets for lasagna
- 9 oz salmon (fresh or canned)
- 1.65 lbs broccoli rabe
- 2 oz smoked salmon (optional)
- to taste fine salt
- 3 cups milk
- 2.5 tbsps butter
- 2.5 tbsps all-purpose flour (or cornstarch)
- to taste fine salt
- to taste pepper
- to taste nutmeg
- 1 pinch dried chives or 10 stems of fresh ones
Tools
- 1 Baking dish
Steps
Drain the salmon perfectly from the oil or water in which it is preserved; if using fresh salmon, be sure to remove the outer skin and bones with tweezers, and in this case, it will be added raw to the lasagna.
The salmon, both raw and canned, should be cut into chunks.
Parboil the broccoli rabe in salted water. They should be very soft, with almost mushy stems. I parboil them for 8 minutes, starting from the first boil. Drain and set them aside.
Prepare the béchamel. In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. As soon as it is melted, add the flour and mix with a whisk until a sort of cream is formed, which should be cooked, stirring continuously, for about 30 seconds. Then add the milk all at once and continue to stir. Season with salt, pepper, and chives. Cook over low heat until the béchamel begins to thicken (with this amount of flour, the béchamel will remain fluid). At the end of cooking, add finely chopped smoked salmon for a burst of flavor and aroma.
I recommend pouring the béchamel over the lasagna when it’s still hot; this will further shorten the cooking time.
Assemble our lasagna with salmon and broccoli rabe. On the bottom of the baking dish, put a few spoonfuls of béchamel. Place the first layer of pasta sheets, add pieces of salmon, crumbled broccoli rabe with your hands, a little béchamel, and proceed with the 2nd layer until the ingredients and pasta layers are finished. Wet the last layer with the remaining béchamel, decorate with more salmon and pieces of broccoli rabe, and bake for about 15 minutes, on the lowest shelf, at 392°F.
