Smoked Trout and Fennel Lasagne

Back to exploring with fennel again!  I love pasta, particularly combined with the subtle flavour of  trout and fennel.I have been making this recipe for twenty years, it is a variation  from a recipe in a gorgeous vegetable book, by Robert Budwig who is actually a book illustrator and artist and has illustrated several cook books.
I made this lasagne, for my sewing girls the other day and they loved it. It seems quite rich, but is very light and tasty. The parmesan and cream in the sauce can be thinned down with stock, as in, more stock than cream and you don't need a lot to serve, just a drizzle around the plate.
Its a very hard dish to photograph, but hopefully it looks good enough to make. I used a 22 cm square baker
A green salad and a glass of white wine and your done!

1 fennel bulb

200ml fish stock, Campbells, available at supermarket, use remaining for serving sauce

250g smoked piece of ocean trout, flaked

2 tablespoons ground fennel seeds

4 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese

Salt & pepper

Fresh pasta - lasagne sheets available in the fridge section of the supermarket

Bechamel Sauce recipe to follow

600ml milk

60g butter

60g plain flour

½ onion, 2 sprigs fresh thyme, 1 clove

Warm the milk with onion and herbs, and set aside. Leave to stand for 15 mins to infuse the flavours. Strain the milk, melt the butter in a saucepan, and mix in the flour, cook for a few minutes. Whisk in the strained milk, and continue whisking until combined and simmer gently for 2 - 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat, and add the fish stock at the last minute.

Cut the fennel bulb in half lengthways, and cook gently in boiling salted water for 15 minutes.  Cut into thin lengthways slices.

Place the lasagne sheets in a greased ovenproof dish, slightly overlapping.

Layer the fennel, flaked trout, bechamel, ground fennel, and parmesan, ending with a layer of pasta, bechamel, ground fennel and parmesan.  Bake for 25 - 30 minutes at 180C.

Serve with a sauce of cream, and parmesan cheese, cut into squares, and use the fennel fronds as decoration.