October 5, 2013

Butternut Squash Lasagne


There's nothing like the occasional pleasure of having a lasagne made ahead and just sticking it in the oven and doing something else for an hour while dinner readies itself. This is very very tasty with the earthy deep flavor of butter and sage. I've harvested no fewer than a dozen butternut squash from my garden, so it's a key meal in the rotation this fall, along with butternut squash risotto and roasted vegetable pizza, two of our other favorite ways to use squash.









Butternut Squash Lasagne 
from marthastewart.com
~3 1/2 lbs. butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lb. whole-milk ricotta cheese
1/2 C heavy cream
2 large egg yolks
1/2 lb. mozzarella, grated (2 cups)
Freshly grated nutmeg
2 T unsalted butter
1/3 C loosely packed fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 C chicken or vegetable stock
lasagne noodles, cooked
4 oz. finely grated Parmesan (1 1/4 cups)
Preheat oven to 425. Toss squash, oil, and 1 teaspoon salt on a baking sheet. Season with pepper. Roast until light gold and tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool.

Reduce oven to 375. Combine ricotta, cream, yolks, mozzarella, and a pinch of nutmeg in a medium bowl. Season with salt.

Melt butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. As soon as it starts to sizzle, add sage, and cook until light gold and slightly crisp at edges, 3 to 4 minutes.

Place squash in a medium bowl, and mash 1/2 of it with the back of a wooden spoon, leaving the other 1/2 in whole pieces. Gently stir in sage-butter mixture and stock. Season with salt and pepper.

Layer in a 9-cup baking dish in this order:
3/4 cup of ricotta mixture
a layer of noodles. 
1/2 of the butternut squash mixture
a layer of noodles
1 cup of ricotta mixture
Repeat layering once more (noodles, squash, noodles, ricotta)
Sprinkle Parmesan over top

Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until cheese is golden and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

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