butternut squash lasagna
My mom made this while I was home for the holidays, and as it was really yummy, I asked her for the recipe. jadia and I even made it the other night, despite the time-intensive aspect that would usually scare me away. The tasty results and large amounts of leftovers are an awfully good reward for the work, though. I've gotten some requests for the recipe, so here it is.
(I note with some dismay that the Google sponsored links for the email from my mom were: "Try St Louis' Gooey Louie", "Old Garlic Bread Secret", and "Urine Odor Remover Recipe". Somehow I feel like the people advertising the last one chose the wrong keyword.)
My mom got this recipe from the food network and modified it somewhat, and then I added in a few notes of my own:
Butternut Squash Lasagna
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Recipe Summary
*Prep Time: 45 min [for fresh squash & fresh basil option; considerably shorter otherwise unless you are silly like me and forget to pre-thaw the frozen squash]
*Cook Time: 1 hour 25 minutes [again, less for frozen squash]
*Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (1½ to 2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes OR
4 packages frozen butternut squash
3 amoretti cookies, crumbled (found in specialty stores)
¼ cup butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3½ cups whole milk
Pinch nutmeg
¾ cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves cut into strips OR 2 tbsp dried basil
Fresh Spinach lasagna sheets (in the refrigerated section of specialty markets) [highly recommended!] OR Package no-boil lasagna noodles
2½ cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
Prepare Fresh Squash:
Heat 1T oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat
Add the squash and toss to coat
Sprinkle with salt and pepper
Pour ½ C water into the skillet and then cover and simmer over medium heat until the squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes
Cool slightly and then transfer the squash to a food processor.
Add 3 crumbled Amoretti cookies and blend until smooth.
Season the squash puree, to taste, with more salt and pepper.
Prepare Frozen Squash:
Thaw 4 packages squash in bowl
Mash squash and add crumbled cookies
Add salt/pepper if necessary
Prepare sauce:
Melt ¼ C butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat
Add ¼ C flour and whisk for 1 minute
Gradually whisk in 3 ½ C whole milk
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat
Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes.
Whisk in pinch nutmeg.
Cool slightly.
If using fresh basil:
Transfer half of the sauce to a blender (When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes.)
Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway.
If using a blender, release one corner of the lid.
This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions.
Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.)
Add ¾ C fresh basil (cut into strips) and blend until smooth.
Return the basil sauce to the rest of the sauce in the pan and stir to blend.
Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.
If using dried basil:
Either blend it as above or just whisk it into the sauce [the latter worked fine for us.]
Assembling and baking:
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
Lightly butter a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.
Spread ¾ cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish.
Arrange lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan.
Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles.
Sprinkle with ½ C of mozzarella cheese.
Drizzle ½ C of sauce over the noodles.
Repeat layering
Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes.
Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and 1/3 C Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna.
Continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 minutes longer. [we forgot to do this. oops. it still tastes good, but lacks that classic golden cheese lasagna look.]
Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.
Oh, and jadia and I agreed that one of the best things about this experience was learning how to make a quick and tasty white sauce. I think I'll be using a version of this sauce (with some added parmesan or other cheeses, and possibly some garlic) to go over pasta and veggies in the future. Yay! Store-bought cream sauces just aren't very good.
(I note with some dismay that the Google sponsored links for the email from my mom were: "Try St Louis' Gooey Louie", "Old Garlic Bread Secret", and "Urine Odor Remover Recipe". Somehow I feel like the people advertising the last one chose the wrong keyword.)
My mom got this recipe from the food network and modified it somewhat, and then I added in a few notes of my own:
Butternut Squash Lasagna
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Recipe Summary
*Prep Time: 45 min [for fresh squash & fresh basil option; considerably shorter otherwise unless you are silly like me and forget to pre-thaw the frozen squash]
*Cook Time: 1 hour 25 minutes [again, less for frozen squash]
*Yield: 8 to 10 servings
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (1½ to 2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes OR
4 packages frozen butternut squash
3 amoretti cookies, crumbled (found in specialty stores)
¼ cup butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3½ cups whole milk
Pinch nutmeg
¾ cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves cut into strips OR 2 tbsp dried basil
Fresh Spinach lasagna sheets (in the refrigerated section of specialty markets) [highly recommended!] OR Package no-boil lasagna noodles
2½ cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
Prepare Fresh Squash:
Heat 1T oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat
Add the squash and toss to coat
Sprinkle with salt and pepper
Pour ½ C water into the skillet and then cover and simmer over medium heat until the squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes
Cool slightly and then transfer the squash to a food processor.
Add 3 crumbled Amoretti cookies and blend until smooth.
Season the squash puree, to taste, with more salt and pepper.
Prepare Frozen Squash:
Thaw 4 packages squash in bowl
Mash squash and add crumbled cookies
Add salt/pepper if necessary
Prepare sauce:
Melt ¼ C butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat
Add ¼ C flour and whisk for 1 minute
Gradually whisk in 3 ½ C whole milk
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat
Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes.
Whisk in pinch nutmeg.
Cool slightly.
If using fresh basil:
Transfer half of the sauce to a blender (When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes.)
Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway.
If using a blender, release one corner of the lid.
This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions.
Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.)
Add ¾ C fresh basil (cut into strips) and blend until smooth.
Return the basil sauce to the rest of the sauce in the pan and stir to blend.
Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.
If using dried basil:
Either blend it as above or just whisk it into the sauce [the latter worked fine for us.]
Assembling and baking:
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
Lightly butter a 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.
Spread ¾ cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish.
Arrange lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan.
Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles.
Sprinkle with ½ C of mozzarella cheese.
Drizzle ½ C of sauce over the noodles.
Repeat layering
Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes.
Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and 1/3 C Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna.
Continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 minutes longer. [we forgot to do this. oops. it still tastes good, but lacks that classic golden cheese lasagna look.]
Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.
Oh, and jadia and I agreed that one of the best things about this experience was learning how to make a quick and tasty white sauce. I think I'll be using a version of this sauce (with some added parmesan or other cheeses, and possibly some garlic) to go over pasta and veggies in the future. Yay! Store-bought cream sauces just aren't very good.