Recipe for Creole (or Haitian) Lasagna
This is a creole recipe for a lasagna that comes to us from Haiti. If you haven't tried haitian cuisine yet, I strongly advise you
to go have a meal at a nice haitian restaurant: it is absolutely delicious and varied; it takes after the french cuisine and has adapted to the ingredients found in the caribbean. Conch (what haitians call "Lambie") is a race of sea snail and it is a common ingredient in the carribean sea cuisine.
This recipe will help you make small individual lasagnas which you can serve to your guests.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. of conch
- 2 onions, chopped
- 4 bunches chive plants, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 pinch pepper
- 1/2 baguette bread
- 1 cup milk
- Enough lasagna noodles
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tbsp grated cheese
Recipe for 4 portions
Instructions
I-Cook the conches
The important thing here is to avoid getting a tough texture. Peel, clean, place the conches between two plastic sheets and pound them with a rolling pin to tenderize them. Cook them over high heat in a saucepan with the oil, half the onions and chopped chives.
Add a pinch of pepper, half the garlic, stir, pour water to cover and bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper and cook for 30 minutes over low heat.
They will be cooked after partial evaporation of the water; put the conches in a blender and blend coarsely. Reserve.
II-The spices
Sauté remaining spices, onions, chives and garlic in a pot then add conch and tomato paste. Cook over low heat. Soften the bread by soaking it in milk, mix until the bread has incorporated itself smoothly into the stuffing with conch and cook a few minutes.
III-Putting the haitian lasagna together, and baking
Boil the lasagna noodles in salted water until done "Al Dente". Lay a lasagna noodle flat over each 4 individual oven-going plates, spreading some conch stuffing over it, then placing another lasagna noodle over the conch stuffing. Sprinkle with grated cheese and broil in hot oven about 10 minutes.
** Serve the individual conch lasagna plates accompanied with warm tomato coulis.
Tip:
You can use octopus instead of conch in this recipe. Your stuffing is softer if you add lemon juice and 1/4 cup of oil. You need to grate your lasagnas in the oven set to broil and brown the cheese well.