Seafood lasagna

RECIPE FORUM What's For Dinner?
1

Ingredients:

1 green onion, freshly chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup butter or margarine, divided
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 bottle (8 oz.) clam juice
1 pound bay scallops
1 pound uncooked small shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 package (8 oz.) imitation crabmeat, chopped (I only use the real deal!)
1/4 teaspoon white pepper, divided
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
9 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

Preparation:

In a large skillet, saute onion in oil and 2 tablespoons butter until tender. Stir in broth and clam juice; bring to a boil. Add the scallops, shrimp, crab and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; return to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 4 - 5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink and scallops are firm and opaque, stirring gently. Drain, reserving cooking liquid; set seafood mixture aside.

In a saucepan, melt the remaining butter; stir in flour until smooth. Combine milk and reserved cooking liquid; gradually add to the saucepan. Add salt and remaining pepper. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in cream and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Stir 3/4 cup white sauce into the seafood mixture.

Spread 1/2 cup white sauce in a greased 13 X 9 X 2 in. baking dish. Top with three noodles; spread with half the seafood mixture and 1 1 /4 cups sauce. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles, sauce and Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 F degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

2

I am preparing a seafood lasagna — crab, lobster, white sauce, cheeses — for Christmas. Can I bake this ahead and freeze it? I’ve frozen lasagna before but never seafood lasagna.

We are not fans of twice-baked seafood. It is too easy to dry it out, make it tough, ruin it. And you know, you’re going to want to serve a piping-hot lasagna to your guests, which means baking it thoroughly just before serving. Why would you find it necessary to bake it before it goes into the freezer? That’s the step we would skip.

We would assemble the dish and pop it right into the freezer (even if some ingredients are warm). When it’s time to serve — as long as it’s not too big — we would probably take it right from the freezer and pop it in the oven, also skipping the thawing step. It should take an extra half hour or so to cook it through from the frozen state.