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Summer and summertime cooking… two things I look forward to. But with a bit of coordination, the two get even better. The foods of summer… going to the farmer’s market and cooking with in-season fruits and vegetables, all so good…peach pies, grilled corn, and fresh sliced tomatoes. And since it’s often too hot to turn the ovens on inside, it’s a perfect time for grilling outside. This is where the coordination comes in. We’ve been enjoying many grilled meals this summer. Since the Kamado Joe grill can cook at both high heat (up to 900 degrees) and also smoke something for hours, a little pre-planning can go a long way. Strike while the grill is hot… or something like that.
For example, we’ll have a flank steak marinated and ready to grill at 600 or 700 degrees. Once the steak is done, I adjust the temperature with the daisy wheel on top and bring it down to 400 degrees and grill my chicken, so that we can have grilled chicken Caesar salad the next night. Once the chicken is cooked, I again adjust the temperature to 200 degrees and smoke some salmon, that I save and use later in the week to create a wonderful Salmon and Basil Lasagna (recipe below). And this is where summer gets better – you’re not spending as much time cooking, freeing up time for more enjoying. Like many other acquired skills in the kitchen, getting the hang of “stoking the Joe” to get the temperatures you need is easy once done a time or two. And unlike conventional grills, the Joes’ ability to get the high temps, and what you can then do with steaks, is amazing. We have a few left in stock …stop by and take a look.
Salmon and Basil Lasagna
- 12 ounce salmon filet
- Olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon minced basil
- 1/2 Teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 Garlic cloves minced
- 1 Tablespoon minced shallot
- 1 Cup heavy cream
- 1/2 Cup sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt)
- Sea salt to taste
- White Pepper to taste
- 4 Lasagna noodles
- 1/4 Cup minced basil
- 1/3 Cup Parmesan cheese - grated
- Coat the salmon with oil. Sprinkle the flesh side of the fish with the basil and salt. Cover the filet and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Prepare your Kamado Joe smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 200 degrees. Place the salmon on the smoker and smoke until cooked through, about 30 to 40 minutes. (This can be done ahead of time - even a day in advance.)
- While the salmon smokes, make the sauce. Warm the oil in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallot and the garlic and saute until soft but not browned. Stir in the rest of the sauce ingredients and adjust the heat to allow the mixture to simmer steadily. Stir frequently - cooking until it’s reduced by one-third/
- Cook the lasagna noodles according to the package. Drain and cut the strips into thirds (I also think that you could put this in a 9 x9 pan as opposed to making individual servings)
- Flake the salmon into bite-sized chunks.
- To assemble the lasagna, spoon about 1 tablespoon of the sauce on each plate. Lay a strip of lasagna over the sauce and top with 1 ounce of the salmon. Spoon sauce thinly over the fish and scatter about 1 teaspoon each of the basil and cheese over the sauce. Repeat with a second layer. For the top layer of the lasagna, again layer the pasta strip followed by the salmon. Top with equal portions of the remaining sauce, basil and cheese. Serve hot.