Seafood Lasagne

Tonight we tried out an interesting seafood lasagne recipe Dan found in Italian - Over 180 Tantalizing Recipes.

Although it's not focused on quick & easy recipes exclusively, is another great cookbook that we've found to be a great idea resource. The format is my favorite - every recipe includes a big photo of the finished dish, plus several photos of steps of the process. Besides providing a picture-book you can flip through while meal planning for things that sound and look delicious, you also have guidance when making the dish on what it should look like in the end, and along the way. The Quick & Easy series follow the same format, and I've found it so helpful when trying out new recipes. If anyone has recommendations of other cookbooks that follow this format, let me know!

Seafood Lasagne
8 sheets wholewheat lasagne
1 1/4 lb smoked cod fillets
1 pint milk
1 Tbpsn lemon juice
8 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
a few parsley stalks
2 oz butter, plus extra for greasing pan
1 large onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 small zucchini, sliced
2 oz all purpose flour
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup cream
4 oz peeled cooked prawns (tails removed)
4 oz grated Cheddar cheese
1 oz Parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cook the lasagne noodles in boiling, salted water until almost tender - according to the package instructions. Drain and reserve. Place the cod, milk, lemon juice, peppercorns, bay leaves and parsley stalks in a frying pan. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Lift the fish from the pan with a slotted spoon. Skin and flake the flesh. Strain and reserve the cooking liquid. Melt the butter in a pan and saute the onions, pepper and zucchini for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the reserved milk mixture, then stir in the wine, cream and prawns. Simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add 1/2 the Cheddar cheese and season to taste. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Pour in 1/4 of the sauce and spread evenly over the base. Cover the sauce with 3 sheets of lasagne, then add another 1/4 of the sauce. Arrange the cod on top and cover with 1/2 the remaining sauce. Finish with the remaining lasagne, then the rest of the sauce. Sprinkle the Cheddar and Parmesan over the sauce. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and bubbling.