There are lasagnas and then there is this beauty of a lasagna made with butternut squash.
This is quite a different take on the usual bechamel rich lasagnas that are commonly served. No bechamel here. Instead, this lasagna is stuffed with thin slices of butternut squash, lightly sauced with cream and Parmesan, and served in a pool of your best marinara. You can find excellent marinara sauce recipes on Blue Cayenne here and here.
This recipe is adapted from one in the Ottolenghi/Ixta Belfrage cookbook Mezcla. You can buy the cookbook at your local bookstore or on Amazon here..
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen. It would be perfect on your table on Halloween as you await for the arrival of the little ghouls.
Butternut Squash Lasagna
October 28, 2023
Ingredients
- 1 lb. butternut squash (sliced thin)
- 14 oz. cherry tomatoes (sliced in half)
- 4 large cloves garlic (crushed)
- 1 T. tomato paste
- 2 3/4 t. fine sea salt
- 1/4 C. chopped fresh sage leaves plus 10 extra whole leaves to sprinkle on top of your lasagna after its initial baking
- 6 T. olive oil plus a bit more for drizzling onto the lasagna at the end
- Freshly-ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 C. heavy cream
- 3 C. finely-grated Parmesan
- 1 1/2 C. grated Monterey jack cheese
- 3/4 t. freshly-grated nutmeg
- 8 oz. dried no boil lasagna sheets
- 1 2/3 C. vegetable stock
- Large flake salt like Maldon for garnish
- Marinara sauce
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Step 2 Prepare a 9 inch by 13 inch baking tray or dish by spraying it with cooking spray or greasing it with butter.
- Step 3 Slice butternut squash into very thin rings and then cut the rings in half. Combine squash slices with halved tomatoes, garlic, tomato paste, fine salt, chopped sage and 4 T. of oil. Sprinkle mixture with black pepper and mix thoroughly. Set aside.
- Step 4 In another bowl, mix 1 C. cream, 1 3/4 C. Parmesan (grated), and grated nutmeg together. Set aside.
- Step 5 Put the lasagna together. First, layer the bottom of your pan with a layer of dry lasagna strips. Top that layer of lasagna pasta with some of the sliced squash/tomato/garlic mixture. Top that layer of squash with dollops of the cream/Parmesan mixture. Repeat layering until you have used up all of your ingredients.
- Step 6 Pour vegetable stock over the lasagna. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 50 minutes.
- Step 7 After 50 minutes, remove the lasagna from the oven. Remove the foil cover. Mix the remaining 1/2 C. of cream with 1/4 C. grated Parmesan. Spread this mixture over your partially baked lasagna. Return to the oven and bake (uncovered) for an additional 10 minutes.
- Step 8 Remove the lasagna from the oven. Sprinkle the top of the lasagna with 2 T. of olive oil. Sprinkle the 1 C. Monterey jack cheese over the top of the lasagna. Sprinkle the whole fresh sage leaves over the top of the lasagna. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes. When your lasagna is done, the sage leaves will be a pretty bright green and the top of the lasagna should be golden brown.
- Step 9 Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it sit on the counter for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Just before you slice it, spoon about 2 T. of cream over the top and another drizzle of oil. Sprinkle generously with additional grated Parmesan and Monterey jack cheese. Sprinkle flaky salt and black pepper over the top of the lasagna.
- Step 10 Cut neat squares of lasagna and place them on top of a puddle of warm marinara sauce.
