Cook: Crab and Spinach Lasagna

My local mom & pop grocery had Maryland back-fin crabmeat on sale. I had some ricotta cheese on hand, so I decided to make crab lasagna. Please be warned that I like an ignorant amount of mozzarella on my pasta. Yes, I know Italians never mix seafood and cheese. I’m not Italian.

Crab and Spinach Lasagna
Serves 6 -8 

Ingredients

• 6 sheets no-boil lasagna noodles
• 1 cup finely diced shallots
• 1½ cups sliced white mushrooms
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups half and half (DO NOT use fat-free half and half)
• 1 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach – thawed with as much liquid squeezed out as possible
• 1 tablespoon Old Bay
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons basil sliced in a chiffonade
• 1 pound lump crab meat – picked for shells
• 1 pound ricotta cheese
• 1 beaten egg
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese—divided
• 1 16 ounce package shredded mozzarella cheese—divided

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Melt butter in a medium saucepot. Once the butter is melted and foaming, sauté shallots for about 1 minute. Add mushrooms and sauté until shallots are translucent and mushrooms are softened but not browned—about 3-5 minutes.
3. Dust sautéed shallots and mushrooms with flour, stir, and cook until flour starts to brown slightly and smells slightly nutty.
4. Add half and half. Then stir to dissolve flour. Cook until thickened. Do not let it boil.
5. Add Old Bay, freshly ground pepper, and spinach. Stir until spinach is warmed through. Remove from heat, then stir in basil.
6. In a medium bowl, mix ricotta and beaten egg. Add ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese and 1 cup mozzarella cheese and stir well.
7. Arrange 3 sheets of lasagna noodles on the bottom of a 12″ x 9″x2″ baking dish. Top with half of spinach mixture, half of the crab, and half of the ricotta mixture. Repeat layers.
8. Top layers with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
9. Cover with no-stick aluminum foil and seal well.
10. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until mixture is bubbly. Uncover and bake for 10-12 more minutes to lightly brown top.
11. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.