Butternut White Lasagna

I must have been inspired on Thanksgiving Day….my brother had come down to visit us so I was cranking out meals and they got 3 elaborate meals that day. Lunch could have been the centerpiece for dinner! So we all only ate a small serving, so we could oink out at dinner 😉 The best part is that meant we had leftovers to enjoy later….

And I know it seems I own every unitasker kitchen tool out there. I probably do. And so let me tell you the tale of this one….

Baker’s Edge Simple Lasagna Pan, yes, I received one of those for a gift a few years back. Thing is, it does work, and it works really well. It does everything it claims it will. I love how pretty the lasagna comes out. all tidy and even. No overly baked edges and a watery lukewarm middle! So every once in a while I get the pan down and make a big batch of noodles. Yum!

Kirk has made it a point to find me cheap-ie deals on magazine subscriptions, so I can have an endless stream of inspiration. He goes for free first (great way to use up airline miles that are expiring) or $1-5 deals. Awhile back he subbed me to Taste of Home Magazine, which for the most part I gloss through. I can remember my Grandmother being a fan of the magazine back 15-20 years ago. It has changed for what I would say is good, and has grudgingly entered the modern foodie way finally. Leaving behind many of the “Midwest” recipes for fresher ideas. I can get behind that. Less canned ‘cream o’ soups and more fresh foods. So every few issues I see a recipe or two that I try (and usually tweak a little). In the most recent issue I saw a recipe for a rosemary butternut lasagna and played with it. I added a bit more flavor, swapped in sage (which I prefer) and added in some mozzarella. Oh, and I used my deluxe-o pan. You can use a 9×13″ pan of course 😉

Butternut White Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 13.25 ounce package whole wheat lasagna noodles
• 1 butternut squash, about 3 pounds
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 6 Tbsp white whole wheat flour
• 4 cups 2% dairy milk or unsweetened almond milk
• 2 Tbsp granulated garlic
• 1 tsp dried sage
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• 1½ cups finely grated pecorino romano cheese
• 16 ounces grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°. line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil.

Peel the butternut, cut into quarters, scoop out seeds, discard. Trim the ends of the pieces, cut into ¼” thick slices (half-moon shape). Toss the squash with the oil and salt, spread in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes, set aside and lower oven to 375°.

Bring a large lightly slated pot of water to boil, add lasagna noodles, cook for time on package (ours took 8 minutes). drain and uncoil so flat.

Meanwhile, whisk flour, garlic, salt, sage and pepper with the milk in a medium saucepan over medium. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly, until thick.

Liberally oil baking dish (be it a super lasagna pan or 9×13″ glass dish), spread a ¼ cup white sauce in the bottom of the 4 sections (or 1 cup on the bottom of a single dish). Place a noodle in each section, cover in a layer of butternut, sprinkle on a quarter of the cheeses, then top with another layer of noodles. Repeat with another quarter of the sauce, butternut and cheese, make 4 layers or so, ending with sauce  and cheese on top. Cover with foil.

Bake for 40 minutes in the upper third of oven. Remove foil cover and bake uncovered for 10 minutes.

Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting (or longer if you can wait!)

Serves 8.

~Sarah