French Baked Salmon and Zucchini Ravioles Gratin
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 565kcal
Equipment
- 1 9 x 13 inch oven safe baking dish or cast iron pan
Ingredients
- 1.5 - 2 pounds of salmon fillets
- 3 - 4 medium-sized zucchini sliced ⅛ inch thick
- 1 packet of ravioles dauphine (240g) or 1 box of mini raviolis/ravioletti (250g)
- 12 oz of creme fraiche
- 8 oz of shredded gruyere cheese or other hard mild white cheese
- ⅛ teaspoon of nutmeg
- 2 teaspoon of kosher salt divided
- ½ teaspoon of black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F (205°C).
- Cook the mini raviolis until just al dente - about 1 minute less than the package recommends. They’ll finish cooking in the oven. Skip this step if using ravioles.
- Once they are done, drain them and coat them with enough olive oil so they do not stick together.
- Spread them on a plate or tray to cool slightly while you prepare the rest of the dish.
- If using ravioles, you can skip the boiling step completely. It will cook in the oven.
- Prepare zucchini by slicing them into ⅛ inch slices with a knife or a mandoline slicer, pat to dry.
- For the salmon filets, remove any skin that is on them and then cut into 1 inch cubes - this ensures they are cooked evenly while baking.
- Grate the white cheese using the large holes of a box grater.
- Once all your ingredients are prepped, in a heavy large skillet or large baking dish, assemble the ingredients in the following layers: zucchini slices, ravioles or mini ravioli, ½ the salmon cubes, followed by creme fraiche. After each layer of creme fraiche, sprinkle a pinch of salt, pepper, and a tiny bit of nutmeg.
- Make sure you go in this order because you want the creme fraiche to be on top of the salmon while baking. This keeps it from drying out during the cooking process.
- Repeat layers one more time using up the remaining half of the salmon cubes.
- After the last layer, you should end up with creme fraiche on top. Do one additional layer of zucchini slices with whatever is remaining. Don't worry if this layer of zucchini doesn't cover the dish evenly.
- Top the entire dish with the grated cheese of your choice (gruyere, white cheddar, parmesan, etc.)
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown on top and bubbling.
- Turn on your broiler to high for 2-3 minutes to further brown the top layer of cheese if you’d like to add more flavor and texture to your dish. Usually, it would come out already browned enough so this step is only if you'd like to brown the cheese layer some more.
- It will come out piping hot so let it cool for at least 20 minutes to let the dish set a bit before serving. Serving too soon out of the oven results in it not holding its structure.
Notes
- Prep ahead: Assemble up to 24 hours in advance. Refrigerate and bake right before serving.
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When removing skin from salmon, we find it is easiest when the salmon is slightly frozen.
- For frozen salmon filets: Remove it from your freezer and let it thaw on the countertop for about an hour before prepping.
- For fresh salmon filets: Put it in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes before removing skin.
- Make sure the creme fraiche is always layered on right after the salmon cubes. This ensures the salmon remains moist.
- When it comes to the layer of creme fraiche, dallop the creme fraiche throughout the dish before spreading. This makes it easier to spread an even layer throughout.
- You can replace gruyere with more mild cheeses such as sharp cheddar, emmental, or parmesan cheese if you have pickier eaters.
- The zucchini slices should be cooked through and soft. If it comes out too tough, just put it back in to bake a bit more.
- Make sure you leave enough time before serving to let it cool at least 20 minutes before serving.