Butternut Squash Lasagna

Yesterday I made lasagna – with butternut squash. Hmmm, another first in the kitchen for this novice.

Dealing with New England weather, on a budget, working from home with husband who’s love language is food, has suddenly made cooking my newest hobby. There’s something about the oven warming up the apartment – working with my hands that is mindless and therapeutic – eating more natural homemade food – that just feels good. And then that eating part… yum.

I got so caught up in my new found kitchen optimism, using local produce and cooking a meat-free version of this dish that I forgot one thing … I don’t like squash. Seriously? Yea, whoops. Thankfully, I DID like this lasagna that pairs fresh sage with the squash, and so did our neighbors Charlie and Christie who helped us eat it!

Here’s the recipe from Martha if you’d like to try it:

Serves 8 (umm…try more like 5 or 6)
Ingredients

• 3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 pound whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated (2 cups)
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup loosely packed fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/4 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
• Fresh Lasagna Noodles, (you will need only 1/2 of the batch), cut into 4-by-13-inch strips and cooked, or (keep dreaming) store-bought dried noodles, cooked
• 4 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese (1 1/4 cups)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash, oil, and 1 teaspoon salt on a baking sheet. Season with pepper. Bake until light gold and tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool.
2. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Combine ricotta, cream, yolks, mozzarella, and a pinch of nutmeg in a medium bowl. Season with salt.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Spread 3/4 cup of ricotta mixture in a 9-cup baking dish (what is that? our 9×13 baker was great). Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1/2 of the butternut squash mixture over noodles. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1 cup of ricotta mixture over noodles. Repeat layering once more (noodles, squash, noodles, ricotta). Sprinkle Parmesan over ricotta mixture.
6. 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.

A few other links:

• Other great lasagna recipes from my new favorite blog, The Kitchn.
• Another butternut squash lasagna recipe from Sunset.