White Winter Squash Lasagna

rf1170

Owing in large part to the many winter squash I have squirreled away in my garage (I purchased a bunch at the end of my farmer's market in November), I've been cooking a lot of them lately. And I'm tired of squash soup! For now, anyway. So I thought I'd give something new a try - I thought about making a casserole, and lasagna came to mind. However, the classic tomato sauce, meat, and mozzarella probably wouldn't go well with a winter squash, so I thought I'd try a white sauce instead. I had some kale in my fridge too, so I threw that in there. Here's the recipe I came up with, and I'll be posting pictures of the finished lasagna later! Enjoy, and please let me know if you have any questions, or if you've been inspired by squash yourself!

1 Hubbard squash, roasted (about 8 cups mashed flesh) - I used Hubbard because that's what I had, but you could use any
winter squash.
precooked lasagna noodles, about 12 oz.
4 cups kale, torn into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
6 cups whole milk
sea salt
pepper
nutmeg
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 pound grated Gruyère cheese - for both cheeses, spend a little extra and get a high-end brand. The rest of these ingredients are cheap, so why not get the best you can?
1 cup sliced shallots
1 Tablespoon fresh thyme
1/4 cup chopped English walnuts

Grease a 13" x 9" lasagna pan with butter.

Prepare the sauce by melting the butter over medium heat, then stirring in the flour. Cook for two or three minutes, or until roux is frothy - don't brown. Whisk in milk and simmer for several minutes or until thickened. Add sea salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Whisk in cheeses, reserving about 1 cup of the combined cheeses, until melted.

Prepare the lasagna by layering sauce, noodles, squash, shallots and thyme, and kale. Continue layering until the pan is full or you run out of ingredients - whatever happens first! Cover the top with aluminum foil and bake at 375º for 45 minutes. Remove foil and sprinkle reserved cheese and walnuts over the top of the lasagna, and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and nuts are toasted.

Here's the nutritional breakdown from MFP:

anastaza

Yummy!!! I'll have to try making that sometime.

kyoules

I love squash, I'll have to try this sometime! Here's my favorite recipe using winter squash. I used butternut but you could use whatever you have, since it sounds like you have an abundance!

Roasted Butternut Squash and Quinoa Salad (from Inn Season restaurant in Royal Oak, MI)

4 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups cubed winter squash, such as butternut (I double this, plus the seasonings)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground or rubbed sage
Pinch of salt
1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 cup chopped red onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped parsley

Lime Vinaigrette

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, peeled, mashed
Salt and pepper to taste

Mixed greens for serving

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Toss the squash with olive oil, cumin, chili powder, sage and pinch of salt. Roast in oven until tender, about 15 minutes. Remove and set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees and toast the pumpkin seeds until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven. In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, pumpkin seeds, red onion, carrot, celery and parsley with the squash. In a small bowl, whisk together all the vinaigrette ingredients.Add desired amount of the vinaigrette (or serve it on the side), salt and pepper to taste. Serve on a bed of greens.

rf1170

oh my goodness, that salad sounds great! I can't get enough cumin, so I bet I'd love it. and I think I have everything but the carrots and limes on hand! thanks for sharing!

rf1170

I think I might make this again tomorrow for a few friends who are coming to dinner - if so, I'll try to get a good picture this time! My kitchen lighting isn't the most flattering, and I couldn't post a crappy photo when the dish itself was so good. I can't scare anyone off from this deliciousness!