Dungeness Crab & Pine Nut Lasagne

[Chez Bubba]

Dungeness Crag and Pine Nut Lasagne
Paraphrased from recipe published in Saveur magazine, March 2004

Ingredients:

2 cups béchamel sauce
Sheet pasta of lasagne noodles
9-12 oz. Dungeness crab meat
¼ cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano
¼ cup freshly grated pecorino-romano
½ lb button mushrooms, stemmed & thinly sliced
½ cup ricotta
¾ cup pine nuts

The recipe went into details about making the béchamel & pasta from scratch, I’ve omitted them here as everyone seems to have his/her favorite version. I also added ½ lb of sautéed then chopped shrimp to the crab. I also did one extra layer of ricotta, just to use up the entire container. If I were to make it again, I think I would lightly sauté the mushrooms as they came out rather raw tasting. Mine also took longer to cook but that’s probably because I can’t make a small lasagne & my pan is 4” deep.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a 9x13 baking dish with butter. Line bottom of dish with pasta, trimming as necessary to make 1 even layer. Scatter crab over pasta, spread 1/3 of the béchamel on top, then sprinkle with ½ the grated cheeses. Cover with another layer of pasta, scatter mushrooms on top, add dollops of ricotta and spread ½ the remaining béchamel on top. Cover with another layer of pasta, spread remaining béchamel on top, sprinkle with remaining grated cheeses and scatter pine nuts on top. Bake until bubbling & golden brown, about 30 minutes.

On a side note: I didn't notice much difference between the "Premium Chunk" crabmeat at $4.50 a can and the "Whitemeat" crabmeat at $1.99 a can. I have a feling the marketing guys are coming into play.

Kirk

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?

[Kummok]

Crab comes in a CAN?!?!?[:0]  And all this time, I've been pulling it out of the Bay!! Sheeeeesh, what's next, shrimp that grows in freezers?!?!? [][]

Kummok @ Homer, AK USA

[Fuzzybear]

You know Kummok, I'm gonna come up there and smack you sometime![}:)]

Teasing us all the time with that fine, fresh salmon; crab; halibut you have just waiting for you outside your front door![:p]

Crab in a can.....sheesh!  What else we got??? If I want live crab I have to drive 100 miles or more and out here, it's mostly spider crab and dungeness look a like - the real stuff, I gotta take a 400 mile jag to San Francisco!  That ain't gonna happen...[]

"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!

[Cold Smoke]

That's nothing- I'm 1500 miles from the nearest fresh stuff. All finned/ shelled creatures I'll smoke will come from the local grocery store- 2 miles.

Cold Smoke

[Chez Bubba]

K-man,

My particular situation sucks! See ya in a few months, hopefully you all have thawed out by then. Haven't seen fresh King Crab for about 15 years around here.

Looking forward to July.............

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?

[Kummok]

Uh-Oh! Now you're gonna find out that I was jes havin' fun at yer expense [:I] ....the Kachemak Bay has been closed to shrimping/crabbing since 2001......there's plenty everywhere else, but for some reason, (probably Bush's fault if you listen to the media these days[] ), those fisheries are closed UFN.....word IS that the glacial silt migration has covered the rocks that anchor the kelp beds where these critters used to thrive ?!?!?

Used to be that I could go down to the dock, (close enough to see it as I type [] ), throw out a crab ring or wadded up nylon pantyhose with a fish head in it, and catch enough "Dungies" for a big dinner in about 20 minutes....there were zillions.  Still great potting in Kodiak, Seward, Valdez, etc....just NOT Kachemak Bay []  So, all funnin' aside, even I have to BUY  my crab these days, from the roadside crab/shrimp/scallop raodside vendors, (unless a kind neighbor drops some by after a trip to one of the crab/shrimp locales!) Still plenty of clams, mussels, salmon, dolly varden, halibut, ling cod, red snapper, even shark [] in the Bay, fresh for the catchin'  [8D]

Kummok @ Homer, AK USA

[Fuzzybear]

Awww man, here I was thinking you were living the high life!

Well, it just goes to show you, without a boat, we all have to go shopping locally!

I'm looking forward to your fishing trip reports this year Kummok - may the force be with you!

"A mans got to know his limitations"
Glendora, CA - USA!

[tsquared]

That recipe sounds fantastic Chez! I'm full of dinner and it still made me drool. I'm always looking for ways to use crab and that looks great. I can't catch 39 lb king salmon in January here but we do have Dungeness crab. Thank god we beat Kummok in some category, or as Fuzzy says, we'd just have to go up and give him a smack! []
Tom

[nsxbill]

Sure sounds good, Chez!

I have one of those monster lasagne pans too...only way to go.  Wife left for Florida a couple of years ago for two week visit with daughter.  I made Lasagne...It lasted for two weeks of easy to fix quick meals.  Got to try this one, but probably in a smaller pan!

Bill

<i>There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.</i>

[Kummok]

Just finished 3 Tanner crab for dinner tonight (also called Alaskan Snow Crab by advertisers). Once AGAIN, I had to actually BUY them, but I only had to walk down to the dock and get them outta the live well on the fishing boat that caught them. Live, 8lbs for $28...OUCH! But the flavor was great! I think we have enough crabmeat leftover, after stuffing ourselves, to finally try this recipe[:p][:p] ThanX again, Kirk[]

35 years of extinguishing smoking stuff and now I'm wondering WHY!
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA

[nsxbill]

Check out this recipe for the Reveo I am offering a deal on right now:

<font color="red"><font size="3">Crab & Artichoke Casserole</font id="size3"></font id="red">

1 lb. chopped crab meat
1 lb. canned artichokes
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 stick butter (melted)
1/4 cup bread crumbs
2 whole eggs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1.   Blend liquid ingredients with dry spices.
2.   Add crab meat, artichokes and marinade to Reveo barrel.
3.   Attach hose and MariVac.
4.   Tumble 15 minutes.
5.   Place in shallow baking dish and bake uncovered at 300°F for 25 minutes, until top is brown and bubbly.

Image here:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/nsxbill/dip.jpg

OUCH!  Going to comissary today to pick up some Top Round Roasts for Jerkey and some crab for this dip recipe.  I think I will substitute Panko Bread crumbs for conventional bread crumbs in the dip...Love that crunch!

The diet starts on Monday!  The condemned's last meals await!

Bill

<i>There is room on earth for all God's creatures....on my plate next to the mashed potatoes.</i>

[Chez Bubba]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Kummok</i>
<br />Live, 8lbs for $28...OUCH!<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">Smartass![][][][8D][!][]

http://www.chezbubba.com
Ya think next time I check into a hotel & they ask "Smoking or Non?" they would mind?

[JJC]

Bill, that picture of the crab-artichoke casserole is fabulous [:p]

Kummock, you a bad, bad man . . . [}:)][}:)][][8D]

John
Newton MA