When I was really young my family went to Charleston and we ate at
his restaurant on Market Street, right down near East Bay. I ordered
the Seafood Lasagna. It was fabulous. All the flavors melded together
beautifully, it was beautiful, had wonderful texture and aroma. I don't
remember anything else about the trip. Don't know who I went with, why
we were there or even how old I was, but that lasagna has been a
burning beacon in my memory of food. Finally this week I decided it was
time to create it for myself.
Mark and I had two days off together and in a row, so we decided to
head to Aiken to spend some time with my Dad this father's day week, we
would make it for them. We had a few hang ups, though, some special
diets in the house, so we decided to make it with thin slices of
eggplant and zucchini instead of pasta noodles. So I got my seafood:
scallops, muscles, shrimp and oysters, packed them in my cooler and took
the drive, in a huge storm to Aiken. Steamed the muscles in white
wine, lemon thyme and garlic until they just popped open, reserved that
liquid to do a light poach on the other seafood. Then made up a little
roux and used my now delicious poaching liquid and some cream to make a
white sauce to go in between the layers. Thinly sliced and grilled the
zucchini and eggplant and layered them with the sauce, some seasoned
ricotta and mozzarella and seafood. Everything was going so well.
But Alas, it was not to be. I didn't account for the fact that not
only would the seafood leach some liquid but that there would not be
pasta there to absorb it. Also the vegetables would leech their own
liquid. Sigh. So when we cut into it the lasagna was all soupy, even
though it tasted fabulous (and sorry I didn't get a picture of the
mess). So how do I resolve this problem? the obvious solution is to
make it with the pasta, which would help a lot, but I was trying to make
it low carb, so maybe eggs? or some corn starch mixed into the sauce
so it would thicken up while baking? Honestly, I don't know what the
best solution would be, but I intend on finding it. And you know what,
we ate, and enjoyed it anyway, so in the end it was just nice to have a
good family meal.
UPDATE: 7/3/12
Made some eggplant parmesan at work this week that had basically the same makeup. It did not have the seafood which may have caused a good bit of the extra liquid, so I still have to make this again to see if it worked, but I mixed a couple of eggs and some cornstarch with the ricotta. It really tightened up the whole thing and didn't effect the flavor at all. Maybe good luck on your low carb adventures!
Eva, This is a great idea and with a diabetic spouse, I too look for innovative wasy to curb the carbs! You're on the right track to gril to veggies [cut thin & length-wise on a madoline [sp?] grater] just grill a bit more to get more moisture out. Cornstarch in the sauce will also help and pouring a beaten egg mixture over the whole before topping with the cheeses and it should slove the soggy outcome. I've got a few N. African dishes that use the egg mixture to help deal with the liquid problem and it works well. ---Must try this seafood version from your childhood memory. Seems as though you were destined to become a chef! - Dorothea
ReplyDeleteDorathea,
ReplyDeleteI actually cut them by hand, but only because I didn't have a mandoline. I think you are right, though, a combination of both more starch, egg and just grilling more of the liquid out of the veggies would solve most of the problem. Probably also letting it actually rest like you are supposed to would have helped a lot! but I am impatient.
Sounds yummy!!! I'm sure in time you'll have it all figured out! I enjoy reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteSusan