KING CRAB LASAGNA

KING CRAB LASAGNA image

Yield 8 people

Number Of Ingredients 20

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Ingredients

Sauce:
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 pound fresh crabmeat (King preferred, or Snow, but any crab is ok)
3 tomatoes, blanched, seeded and chopped (about 1 ½ cups)
1/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (Or 2 big tablespoons course dry basil)
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups clam-tomato juice (such as Clamato)
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons Thick Sour Cream
¼ teaspoons paprika
¼ teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Lasagna:
7 to 8 lasagna noodle per layer (21 - 25 total)
1 cup small curd cottage cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
1.5 pounds crab meat
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese (Fresh grated from block)

Steps:

Sauce Preparation: Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add 3/4 of crabmeat, tomato, 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil, and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes. Whisk in flour; stir 2 minutes. Whisk in clam-tomato juice and next 4 ingredients. Reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Cool soup slightly. Puree soup in batches in blender until smooth. Return soup to pot. Stir in lemon juice; bring to simmer. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Bring to simmer before continuing.) (The base should be thicker than bisque.) Lasagna Preparation: Combine Ricotta and Cottage cheeses together in a bowl. Mix completely, but carefully, so as not to damage the cottage cheese. Shred about ¼ pound crab meat in a bowl using forks to separate it. Boil lasagna noodle very lightly, 2 - 3 minutes, just to make it soft, but not cooked, or rigid. Rub baking pan (roughly 9 x 13) sides and bottom with butter. Place even thin layer (about 3 large serving spoons full) of the sauce on the bottom of the pan. Then, layer with lasagna sheets until covered. Cover noodles with sauce, and spread even. Dab in full tablespoons of ricotta and cottage mix, about 3 - 4 down each side, and then spread between them to create a fairly thick layer. Layer with mozzarella and small amount of parmesan cheeses. Place 1/3 of the remaining crab meat across the layers. Repeat until you have 3 layers thick. Top off with sauce. Place in pre-heated oven at 170c (350f) for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove lasagna, spread top layer with mozzarella and parmesan cheese, and then the final layer of crab meat that was shredded at the start. Place in oven an additional 10 minutes. If cheese hasn't started to brown, return for an additional 5 - 10 minutes. Increase heat by 20c if necessary.