Recipe: Winter Salmon Salad

A lasagne is a great way to enjoy all the beautiful spring vegetables coming into season.

Ingredients

• 2 zucchini cut into ribbons
• 1 bunch trimmed and thickly sliced asparagus
• 1 bunch trimmed English spinach
• 2 trimmed green onions, cut into 8cm lengths
• 2 thinly sliced Roma tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2/3 cup fresh basil leaves, plus extra to serve
• 30g butter
• 11/2 cups milk
• ¼ cup plain flour
• 10 dried instant lasagne sheets
• 250g fresh ricotta
• 1 cup grated pizza cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 200oC (180oC fan-forced). In a small saucepan, melt butter over a medium heat and add flour. Cook while stirring for about 1 minute until it begins to bubble.
2. Take off heat and gradually stir in milk. Once combined, return to heat and cook for 3 minutes while stirring until sauce thickens and boils. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. Bring a medium sized saucepan of salted water to the boil and add zucchini, onion and asparagus. Cook for 2 minutes and remove with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towel.
4. Add the spinach to the pan and cook until wilted for about 1 minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and once cool enough to touch, squeeze out excess water and roughly chop.
5. Pour 2/3 cup white sauce into an 8 cup capacity ovenproof dish, approximately 20cm x 28cm. Place ¼ of the lasagne sheets over the sauce, trimming if necessary.
6. Layer with vegetable mixture, plus the peas and 1/3 of the ricotta. Top with 1/3 of the remaining lasagne sheets, 1/2 the vegetable mix and ½ the remaining ricotta and repeat.
7. Finish with the rest of the lasagne sheets and white sauce and arrange tomato slices and basil leaves on top. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 45 minutes until golden and pasta is tender.
8. Serve with additional basil leaves.

Serves 4