Tired of the old lasagna? try this but don't tell my grandma - Lasagne with prawns and curry besciamella - Recipe
My friends were actually surprised when they heard I was cooking this dish as they know how much I dislike curry and how my body disagrees with Indian flavours. But, I’m always open to try new things and I think that a delicate hint of curry powder may actually complement this lasagna. The presentation is also a new take on the usual square layered piece of lasagna and you can definitely call it fusion and present your guests an Italian classic with a twist.
I just ask you one thing. Please, do not show this to my nonna. She could have a heart-attack if she knew I’m doing this to her favourite pasta main…
INGREDIENTS for four people (not very hungry...)
- 4 lasagna sheets 15x30cm (you can buy egg-lasagna at your supermarket or make them following my post about making fresh pasta)
- A spoon of curry powder
- 500gr baby leaf spinach
BRING a pot of salted water to the boil.
DUNK the lasagne sheet in the boiling water one by one and cook for two minutes. If you don’t have time to cook each sheet individually, put them altogether in a big pan with a few drops of olive oil, this will prevent them from sticking together.
SET them aside once cooked, on a dump towel.
MELT the butter in a pan and gradually ADD the flour mixed with the curry through a sieve. Keep it on a medium heat. Make sure you keep stirring so that you have a smooth blend with no lumps.
When the mixture starts binding together and separating from the wall of the pan, gradually ADD the warm milk while stirring vigorously.
ADJUST with salt and pepper. If you think your besciamella is too liquid (although it shouldn’t if you followed the quantities!), add a bit of flour and keep it on the heat while stirring. On the other hand, if it’s too thick, add some more warm milk (or even warm water if you want to have a lighter sauce).
PREPARE an oven tray with baking paper brushed with olive oil.
CUT half of prawns along their back, while chop the others in chunks. COOK them for a minute in a pan with a knob of butter melted together with the garlic.
WILT the spinach in a pan with a splash of lemon juice. Add pepper and salt.
PUT a sheet of pasta on the tray and POUR a couple of spoons of besciamella on the short side, top it with some bits of prawns, three whole prawns and some spinach.
FOLD the sheet over and repeat previous step. Before you finish with a layer of besciamella and three prawns, brush some melted butter to prevent the pasta burning while baking.
BAKE in a preheat oven at 200C for 7/8.
PLATE it and brush some melted butter (I used the same pan I used for the prawns so that it picks up all the good flavour left by the prawns) and decorate with some chive.
The result is extremely pleasant to the eye and to your mouth. The creamy besciamella has a delicate hint of curry that complements the prawns while the spinach add the right texture and a bit of acidity.
The little parcel you see in the picture is filled with wild mushrooms, speck and taleggio…mmmhhhhh. Would you like to see the recipe?