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Butternut Squash Lasagna

Total Time 4 hours
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 1 medium butternut squash
  • 1 pound lasagna noodles depending on the size of your baking dish, you will need approximately 12 noodles, 4 per layer
  • 1 quart whole milk 4 cups, warmed, or at room temperature
  • 1 pound of mushrooms but the more the merrier
  • 1 pound mozzarella cheese shredded
  • 1.5 cups shredded Parmesan
  • 1 pound Italian sausage
  • 2 cups of kale chopped
  • 1 bunch of basil
  • 16 ounces ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 onion sliced into small pieces
  • 1 head of garlic + 4 cloves roasted + ~4 extra cloves (minced)
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 4 tbsp flour
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 springs fresh thyme
  • 1 small shallot peeled and with root end cut off
  • Salt and pepper to taste lots of it!

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 and line baking sheet with foil. Roast garlic and butternut squash for about one hour, or until squash is easily pierced with fork. Reduce oven temperature to 375, or turn off until ready to bake the lasagna.

  2. Cook onions and mushrooms for about 7 minutes over medium/high heat until onions are cooked. Add 4 cloves of chopped garlic and cook for one more minute. Add kale and cook until wilted, around 3 minutes. Remove from heat and store in a bowl until later.

    Next, after removing sausage from their casings, cook in oil over medium/high heat, breaking up the sausage as you cook. Drain off any grease that has accumulated. 

  3. In a saucepan over medium/high heat, add 4 tablespoons of butter, making sure not to let it brown. Add in flour, stir to remove clumps, and cook less than a minute. Slowly add in milk and add spring or two of fresh thyme the shallot. Bring the milk to a simmer, then reduce to medium/low and cook until it is thick and creamy, about 5-10 minutes. Remove aromatics, season with salt and pepper, add entire head of roasted garlic. Mix to incorporate and cook for one more minute. Reduce heat to low and stir occasionally, incorporating any layers that form until ready to use.

  4. Using a large stockpot, boil 5 quarts of heavily salted water (many chefs say it should “taste like the sea”). Cook until al dente, about 2 or 3 minutes less than the recommended cooking time on the package. While it is cooking, lay out a layer of parchment paper on the countertop. Drain water, drizzle with a bit of oil, toss to coat, and place lasagna noodles on the parchment paper, laying them flat and avoiding overlap.

  5. Remove flesh/inside from butternut squash and add to a mixing bowl. With the back of a spoon, mash the squash until clumps are gone and it is smooth. Add in ricotta, 1/2 cup shredded parmesan, an egg, a handful of chopped basil (reserving a few tablespoons for garnish at the end), salt, and pepper. Mix until combined.

  6. Butter your lasagna pan, and then spread a thin layer of béchamel on the base so that the noodles don’t stick and dry out. Next, begin layering! Add 1/3 of the ricotta/squash mixture on top of the noodles, creating an even, thick layer. Sprinkle 1/2 of the veggie mix, and 1/2 of the cooked sausage on top. Drizzle the béchamel next, spreading so that every part of the lasagna has a layer on top. Sprinkle 1/3 of the shredded mozzarella and parmesan on top. Repeat two times. For the top layer, spread the the rest of the ricotta/squash mixture on top and sprinkle with remaining parmesan and mozzarella.

  7. Cover lasagna in foil, trying to tend the foil a little bit so that it isn’t flush with the cheese layer. In a 375 oven, bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and take off foil, and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, uncovered, until cheese is browned along edges and has started to create several brown cheese spots throughout the center of the lasagna. Remove, sprinkle with remaining basil, and let cool for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!