Salmon and Shrimp Lasagna

Name: Salmon and Shrimp Lasagna
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 300 g of All Purpose Flour; 3 Eggs; 1 pinch of Table Salt; 700 ml of Whole Milk; 70 g of Butter; 70 g of All Purpose Flour; Table Salt; Nutmeg; 1 pinch of White Pepper; 500 g of Small Shrimp; 250 g of Smoked Salmon; 70 g of Parmesan Cheese; Extra Virgin Olive Oil; Parsley; Table Salt; Mezza of Lemon Peel

Salmon and shrimp lasagna: a creamy step-by-step recipe with egg pasta, a light béchamel and a seafood filling. Perfect for the holidays, made ahead.

Difficulty Medium
Preparation 30 minutes
Cooking 45 minutes
Servings for 6 people

Salmon and shrimp lasagna is a creamy, refined baked seafood first course, able to turn an ordinary Sunday into a small event and to hold its own on important occasions, from Christmas Eve to a birthday lunch.

It comes from the meeting of two well-established Italian traditions: the Emilian one of thinly rolled egg pasta and the seaside one of baked pasta with shellfish and smoked fish, found all along the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian coasts since the 1980s, when smoked salmon became a fixture in Italian home cooking.

The result is a dish that looks elaborate but actually takes just a few well-judged steps: a soft, lightly salted béchamel, shrimp seared in a pan just long enough to turn pink, smoked salmon cut into thin strips and a sprinkling of Parmigiano that binds every layer.

Ingredients for 6 people

For the egg pasta:
300 g of All Purpose Flour sifted
3 Eggs medium, at room temperature
1 pinch of Table Salt
For the béchamel:
700 ml of Whole Milk
70 g of Butter
70 g of All Purpose Flour
Table Salt (just a little) to taste
Nutmeg to taste
1 pinch of White Pepper
For the filling:
500 g of Small Shrimp cleaned weight, fresh or frozen
250 g of Smoked Salmon in thin strips
70 g of Parmesan Cheese
Extra Virgin Olive Oil to taste
Parsley to taste
Table Salt to taste
1/2 of Lemon Peel

Copy Ingredients List

Open in App

Method

To make the salmon and shrimp lasagna, start with the egg pasta. Pour the flour onto a pastry board in the classic well shape, crack the eggs into the center and add a pinch of salt. Start working with a fork, drawing in the flour from the edges, then keep kneading with your hands for a long time until the dough is dry, firm and elastic. Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 30 or 40 minutes. If you have chosen store-bought lasagna sheets, feel free to skip this step.
After resting, roll out the dough with a rolling pin or a pasta machine, reducing the thickness with each pass until you have a thin, even sheet. Cut it into rectangles of about 12 x 20 cm (5 x 8 inches) and let them rest for a few minutes laid out on the work surface.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil to keep the sheets from sticking together. Blanch the pasta rectangles for one minute, a few at a time, then lift them out with a slotted spoon and transfer them straight into cold water. Lay them out on a clean towel until you are ready to assemble the lasagna.
Now take care of the shrimp. If you are using fresh ones, remove the heads and shells, pull out the intestinal vein with a toothpick by running it along the back, rinse them and pat them dry with paper towels. If you are using frozen ones, let them thaw completely and dry them well.
Heat a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet and sear the shrimp over high heat for a few seconds, just long enough for them to turn pink. Season with salt, add a grating of lemon zest if you like and transfer them to a bowl. Then cut the smoked salmon into fairly thin strips and set it aside with the shrimp.
Move on to the béchamel. Heat the milk in a small saucepan without letting it boil. In a second small saucepan melt the butter over low heat, add the salt, nutmeg and white pepper, take it off the heat and stir in the flour with a whisk to prevent lumps.
Put the saucepan back on the heat and keep stirring until the roux turns lightly golden, then pour in the hot milk in a thin stream, whisking vigorously. Cook until it comes to a boil to reach the right thickness. Keep the béchamel lightly salted, because the smoked salmon is already flavorful on its own, and slightly thinner if you have chosen store-bought sheets without blanching them.
Assemble the lasagna in a medium baking dish for 6 people. Grease the bottom with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a thin layer of béchamel, then lay down the first layer of pasta. Continue with more béchamel, a sprinkling of grated Parmigiano, some of the salmon and shrimp and another spoonful of béchamel to finish.
Keep alternating the layers in the same order until the dish is full, ending with béchamel and Parmigiano. Bake in a conventional oven at 200 °C (400 °F) for 30 minutes, or in a convection oven at 190 °C (375 °F) for the same time, until the top is golden and lightly browned.
Take the salmon and shrimp lasagna out of the oven and let it cool slightly for 5 or 10 minutes before cutting it, so you get firm, neat portions. Finish with a handful of freshly chopped parsley and bring it to the table. Finally, remember to download our App with exclusive content and fewer ads!

Variations and Alternatives

For a gluten-free version, replace the flour in the pasta with a gluten-free fresh pasta blend and the flour in the béchamel with rice starch or cornstarch, slightly reducing the amount of thickener. If you want a lighter béchamel, make it with reduced-fat milk and extra virgin olive oil instead of butter, or make it lactose-free with lactose-free milk and vegetable margarine. As for the filling, you can enrich the layers with julienned zucchini sautéed in a pan or with braised leeks, which temper the saltiness of the salmon with a sweet note. Replacing the shrimp with red prawn tails or scallops gives a more elegant version to serve on big occasions, while a tablespoon of robiola or stracchino melted into the béchamel will make it even creamier. If you love contrasts, try flavoring the béchamel with grated lemon zest and finishing the top with breadcrumbs mixed with Parmigiano for a crunchy crust.

Tips

The secret of this lasagna lies in the béchamel, which must stay soft and lightly salted: always taste it before assembling, remembering that the smoked salmon and Parmigiano will add plenty of saltiness. If you use store-bought sheets without blanching them, make the béchamel noticeably thinner, because during baking dry pasta absorbs a good amount of liquid and you would risk a dry result. Don’t cook the shrimp in the pan for longer than the few seconds indicated: they will finish cooking in the oven and searing them too long would make them rubbery. The smoked salmon, on the other hand, should never be cooked separately but only layered raw, so it stays tender. You can assemble the lasagna even several hours ahead and keep it covered in the fridge, baking it only when needed: you will gain peace of mind and the dish will hold together better. Finally, resist the temptation to cut it straight out of the oven, because the 5 or 10 minute rest is what lets the layers settle.

Storage

Salmon and shrimp lasagna keeps in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container, for up to 2 days: since it is a seafood dish, it is best not to go beyond this limit. Reheat it in the oven at 160 °C (320 °F) for about ten minutes, preferably covered with aluminum foil for the first part of reheating, so the top doesn’t dry out. You can freeze it either raw, already assembled in the baking dish, or baked, preferably cut into single portions for one or two people: this way you will always have a complete first course ready to reheat straight in the oven without thawing first. If you choose to freeze it, use fresh shrimp that have never been frozen before. Leftover béchamel keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days with plastic wrap pressed onto the surface.