Butternut Squash Lasagne

On Sunday, I woke up to a rainy morning so I put on my super cool multi-colored rain boots and set out for my neighborhood farmers market in Marylebone. Squash and pumpkins were king this weekend and way more technicolor...

than my rainboots...

Of all to choose from my favorites were the crown prince and butternut. Crown prince is an absolutely beautiful pale blue-gray color and inside is a wonderful bright orange flesh.

I want to admire them for a little bit longer so the butternut is first on the chopping block. I eat butternuts frequently - they have a sweet, nutty flavor and are easy to roast and manage as the skin is quite thin. They are also full of vitamins, beta-carotene and fiber.

I love butternut ravioli with sage and brown butter, but this lasagne is much less labor intensive.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH LASAGNE

• 2 large butternut squash, roasted
• 1 large onion, medium dice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 500 g fresh spinach
• 6 large sage leaves, minced
• 1 1/4 c whole milk ricotta
• 1/4 c chicken stock or milk
• salt and pepper
• Lasagne noodles (1 box)
• 1/4 c grated parmesan

METHOD

 

Cut stem off butternut squash. Halve and clean out seeds. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in 375 Fahrenheit/190 Celsius degree oven and roast till fork tender (30-45 minutes). Let cool for a few minutes before scraping out the flesh.

While squash is in oven, sweat onion in large pan. Add garlic. Add spinach and sage. Once it is cooked drain any excess liquid - a little moisture is fine. Set aside to cool.

Take butternut squash flesh and mash with potato masher. Add ricotta cheese and chicken stock. It should be like a wet mashed potato consistency. Add more chicken stock if necessary. I often use the lasagne noodles that don't need to be pre-cooked so a little extra moisture from the butternut squash mixture is necessary. Salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble lasagne. Start with butternut squash mixture, then lasagne noodle, spinach, more butternut, lasagne, and end with butternut on top. Repeat. If you prefer more noodles feel free to add more layers. Sprinkle parmesan on top. Bake in 375 Fahrenheit/190 Celsius degree oven for 30 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for 5-7 minutes. Serves 6-8.

Comments

[Dee]

Such fabulous Fall colors & flavors. What a wonderful idea to combine lasagna & those butternut squash. Mmm!

[Venny]

What a coincidence! I just roasted my butternut because it fell and cracked its head :(. I've been wondering what to do with it aside from making soup. I'll definitely try this. I too love the ravioli version but just cannot bring myself to make it.

Thanks!

[London Eater]

That's a tasty looking lasagne :P

[Cynthia]

Hi Adrienne, this is Jen's friend Cynthia. Anyway she pointed me to your blog, it's awesome! I have an idea for a blog entry, or at least something that would be helpful for someone like me (and probably you) -- a person who had a lot of work space in a kitchen in California vs. the workspace in a tiny Geneva apartment. I dunno, could you give tips or your essentials for a small kitchen? Thanks!

[Gastroanthropologist]

Hey Cynthia,
Thanks. Yes - this is a very good idea. I've been cooking for months with the bare bones of kitchen supplies and am surprised with what I've come up with. I've upgraded a bit here in London, but in Geneva was working with a two burner stove and a toaster oven! Check back towards the end of next week...

[Maggie]

I love your beautiful images of the squash! The lasagna sounds like a wonderful way to use them.

[Nate M]

I love your blog! You go girl!

[Irene]

Oooh I love butternut squash. Sadly, my husband hates squash in all its forms (how? why??), so I have to cook it when he's away on business trips. I've never seen the crown prince squash before, but I love the color. I wonder which crown prince it was named after!

[gastroanthropologist]

Irene -
I wondered about crown prince too...I couldn't find any info on the origin of the name but the lovely color (and its taste!) makes me think it is a class all on its in - squash royalty!

[gastroanthropologist]

Cynthia - Check out Smitten Kitchen's post from Nov 3 this week - she does a small kitchen post! There's a link to the blog on this page.

[Peppercorn Press]

This looks amazing! I absolutely love butternut squash, but have the same problem (noted above) with my husband hating squash. This is so tempting though I really don't care! He can have canned chili or something while I eat divinely on squash lasagna!

[V]

Hi Adrianne,

Just want to let you know that I made the lasagna (picture is in my blog if you're interested in checking it out. It was good! Thanks for the recipe.

[Sasa]

Still trying to pretend it's not autumn by avoiding pumpkin and squash recipes, hehe....Love the gummies, so cute!