The Glenwood in Onekama is a Northern Michigan restaurant with a rich history and even richer food. Read on to learn about the classic eatery, and take their recipe for whitefish and asparagus lasagna straight to your kitchen.
Featured in the June 2014 issue of Traverse, Northern Michigan’s Magazine. Get your copy.
Way back when, Donna Ervin and Chris Short met when they worked at the same restaurant—jobs that had them saying often to each other: “If we had our own restaurant …” Twenty years ago, they took the plunge and bought The Glenwood in Onekama, a restaurant that dated to the 1900s but which had been shuttered for six years by the time the duo purchased it.
Their goals were simple: great customer service and great food. The upscale, home-cooked fare was delicious from the get-go, but over the past decade, the menu has evolved to take advantage of the bounty of local foods produced in The Glenwood’s rural neighborhood. “The cherries come from down the road, we pick our own peaches for cobbler right here, we drive two miles to pick our own asparagus … our customers bring us salmon they’ve caught on Lake Michigan charters and we cook it for them,” Donna says.
The Glenwood’s whitefish and asparagus lasagna is a product of that dedication to local food. Find it seasonally on their menu, or make it at home. Visit the glenwoodrestaurant.com to view their changing menu and call 231.889.3734 for reservations.
Whitefish and Asparagus Lasagna
Ingredients
- 8 uncooked lasagna noodles
- 1 pound asparagus cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons chopped green onions
- 16 ounces cooked, boneless and skinless whitefish fillet
- 1 tablespoon roasted red peppers sliced thinly
- 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups Alfredo sauce (your favorite recipe)
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cook and drain noodles as directed on package. While noodles are cooking, heat 5 cups water to boiling in a 3-quart saucepan. Add asparagus and heat to boiling. Boil 3 to 4 minutes or until crisp-tender and drain. Toss asparagus with oil and lemon pepper seasoning salt. Mix ricotta, Parmesan and green onions together.
Grease a 13”x9”x2” baking dish. Lay individual noodles on a clean work surface at least one inch apart. Spread cheese and onion mixture over each noodle. Top with whitefish pieces, asparagus, roasted red peppers and ½ cup of the mozzarella cheese, reserving the remaining cup. Starting at one end of the pasta, roll up each noodle and place in baking dish. Pour Alfredo sauce over rolled pasta. Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
Bake uncovered 40 to 45 minutes until center is hot and cheese is melted and golden brown.
