Smoked Salmon Lasagna

This was another casserole selection from the Family-Style Meals at the Hali'imaile General Store cookbook. This time, a lasagna with smoked salmon (from Loki Fish Co.), hard boiled eggs (from Stoney Plains), sun-dried tomatoes, and lots of other tasty flavors.

Smoked Salmon Lasagna
1/2 cup, plus 3 Tbspn butter
1/2 flour
3 cups milk
3 cups half-and-half
3/4 cup crumbled soft herb cheese (we used ricotta and mixed in fresh herbs)
2 tspn salt
1 tspn white pepper
3/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and julienned
3/4 lb cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced (we used about 1/2 lb oyster mushrooms)
1 lb lasagna noodles
2 Tbspn olive oil
2 lb sliced smoked salmon
12 hard-cooked eggs, each sliced into 4 round slices
1 1/2 cups shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 Tbspn finely chopped fresh chives, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a 2 quart saucepan over medium-high heat, melt 1/2 cup butter. Add the flour and stir with a whisk; cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and slowly add milk and half-and-half, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Return to burner over low heat. Stirring constantly, allow sauce to thicken. Add the herb cheese and stir to incorporate. Add salt and white pepper and stir. Remove from heat and set aside. In a small pot of simmering water, add the sun-dried tomatoes and simmer until tomatoes soften, about 5 minutes. Drain tomatoes and set aside in a small bowl. In a large saute pan over high heat, melt the remaining 3 Tbspn butter. Add the mushrooms and saute quickly to brown the mushrooms. Season with salt and black pepper. Transfer mushrooms to a colander to drain and set aside. In a large pot of salted boiling water, add the lasagna noodles and cook for 5 mintues. Drain into a colander and rinse with cold water. Drizzle with olive oil to keep them separated. Grease a 9x13 deep casserole dish with olive oil. Ladle 1 cup of sauce into the bottom of the dish. Cover the sauce with a single layer of noodles. Cover the noodles with 1/2 cup of sauce. Layer one third of salmon slices over the noodles. Sprinkle with one third of tomatoes, mushrooms, and eggs evenly over the salmon. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the cheese. Ladle 1 cupof sauce over the mixture and repeat for two more layers. Finish with a layer of noodles. Cover with remaining sauce and cheese. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until hot, bubbly, and brown on top. Remove from oven, sprinkle with chopped chives, and serve. (Serves 8).