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It’s National Lasagna Day!
Making lasagna is always a “project” and this amazing recipe is certainly time consuming, but well worth the effort. Make a big batch and freeze the left-overs in single serve sizes, you’ll want to experience these wonderful flavors again and again! The sweet and savory roasted squash combined with tangy goat cheese and the aromatic fresh sage are just month watering.
Serves 8-10:
1 lb lasagna
1 large butternut squash (4 lbs)
4 unpeeled cloves of garlic
2 sprigs fresh thyme
3 tsp olive oil
8 Tbs unsalted butter
2 sprigs fresh sage plus 2 tsp chopped fresh sage
1/2 cup all purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
6 oz fresh goat cheese, crumbled
3 oz freshly grated Pecorino Romano
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely crumbled John Wm. Macy’s cheese crisps
Kosher salt and fresh pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F
Prepare the squash:
Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Place the squash, cut side up on a heavy-rimmed baking sheet and put the garlic cloves and fresh thyme in each cavity. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with a 1/4tsp of salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Roast until the squash is very tender—about 45-55 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Discard the thyme, peel the garlic cloves and mash them. Scoop out the squash into a large bowl and add the mashed garlic. Season with salt and pepper. (This can be refrigerated overnight or even frozen until ready to make the lasagna)
Make the sauce:
Melt 6Tbs of the butter in a large heavy saucepan over a medium heat. Add the sprigs of sage and cook for 2-3 minutes, discard the sage. Add the flour and whisk, cooking for about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk, and cook, stirring continuously until the sauce thickens, about 12-15 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the goat cheese and 2oz of the Pecorino and season with salt and pepper. Set aside half the sauce and mix the remaining sauce into the prepared squash.
Make the lasagna according to the direction on the package, or use fresh pasta.
Topping:
Melt the remaining butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Mix the panko breadcrumbs, chopped sage and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Add the melted butter and stir well.
Preheat the oven to 350F
Assemble:
Spread half the sauce over the bottom of a large baking dish (9x13x3). Cover the sauce with slightly overlapping lasagna noodles, then spread with a layer of the squash mixture. Layer with noodles and squash mixture so there are a total of 4 squash layers and 5 noodle layers. Spread over the remaining sauce, sprinkle with the prepared topping, crushed cheese crisps and remaining Pecorino cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for a further 15-20 minutes until the top is browned and crispy. Cool for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
In the spirit of full disclosure some brands mentioned in this article were, are or could be in the future, client’s of our parent company, the leading healthy lifestyle agency, ADinfinitum, Inc.
