Butternut Squash Lasagna Barefoot Contessa Recipes

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH LASAGNA

Steps:

• Make the vegetables: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Toss the squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil on a baking sheet; season with salt. Toss the onion with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil on a separate baking sheet; season with salt. Roast, rotating the baking sheets once, until the vegetables are tender, 18 to 20 minutes; set aside. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, make the bechamel: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the sage and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the flour until smooth; cook, whisking, until the flour is lightly golden but not brown, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the nutmeg.
• Assemble the lasagna: Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Toss the cheeses and the flour in a bowl; set aside 1/2 cup for topping. Evenly coat the bottom of the dish with 1/2 cup of the bechamel. Lay 3 noodles side by side on top. Cover with one-third of the remaining bechamel. Sprinkle with half of the remaining cheese mixture, then top with half of the vegetable mixture. Arrange 3 more noodles on top and repeat the layers (bechamel, cheese, vegetables). Top with the remaining 3 noodles, then cover with the remaining bechamel; sprinkle with the reserved 1/2 cup cheese.
• Loosely cover the dish with foil and bake until bubbly, about 45 minutes. Turn on the broiler. Uncover the lasagna and broil until browned, about 2 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the 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 the amaretti cookies and blend until smooth. Season the squash puree, to taste, with more salt and pepper.
• Melt the butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the 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 the nutmeg. Cool slightly. Transfer half of the sauce to a blender*. Add the basil and blend until smooth. Return the basil sauce to the sauce in the pan and stir to blend. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.
• Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.
• Lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. Repeat layering 3 more times.
• Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna. Continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 minutes longer. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.
• *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.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Place squash, cut-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Cover squash with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until squash is tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir mushrooms and garlic in the hot oil until mushrooms are tender, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.
• Heat remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil in a separate skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion in the hot oil until softened, about 5 minutes. Add spinach to onion; cook until spinach is heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove skillet from heat.
• Heat 6 cups milk in a 5-quart saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir until milk is simmering, about 5 minutes. Whisk remaining 1 cup milk and cornstarch together in a bowl until smooth; stir into simmering milk. Bring milk mixture to just under a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and scraping bottom of pot to prevent scorching, until milk mixture has thickened into a sauce, about 5 minutes; remove pot from heat.
• Whisk 1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese, honey, nutmeg, sage, salt, and pepper into sauce until smooth. Cover pot with a lid and keep warm over low heat.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain.
• Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Scrape flesh from butternut squash into a bowl; stir with a fork until evenly mashed. Stir ginger, salt, and pepper into mashed butternut squash.
• Spoon about 1 cup white sauce into the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish; arrange a layer of noodles atop white sauce. Layer 1/2 butternut squash mixture, 1/5 remaining white sauce, noodles, spinach mixture, 1/5 white sauce, noodles, 1/2 the mozzarella cheese, mushroom mixture, 1/5 white sauce, noodles, remaining 1/2 butternut squash mixture, 1/5 the white sauce, remaining noodles, remaining 1/5 white sauce, remaining mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, respectively. Cover dish with aluminum foil and place dish on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake until bubbling and cheese is browned, about 15 more minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH LASAGNA

Steps:

• Make the filling: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle squash halves with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Roast squashes, cut sides down, on a rimmed baking sheet until tender and browned, about 1 hour. Let cool. Scoop flesh from skins, and puree in a food processor until smooth.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook until browned and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Combine 3 cups squash puree, 1 cup Parmesan, 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons amaretti cookies, sage, browned butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and nutmeg in a bowl. Adjust seasoning as desired with more Parmesan, amaretti cookies, sage, salt, and nutmeg.
• Make the bechamel: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Reduce heat to low, and cook, whisking often, for 3 minutes (do not let flour brown).
• Meanwhile, bring milk to a gentle simmer in another small saucepan over low heat. Gradually whisk hot milk into the roux, whisking constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and the nutmeg. Raise heat to medium, and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Cook, whisking, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low, and cook until the raw flour taste is gone, 5 to 10 minutes more. Season with 3/4 teaspoon salt.
• Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Assemble the lasagna: Coat bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with a thin layer of bechamel (about 1/2 cup). Arrange two 8-by-21-inch sheets cooked pasta on top, barely overlapping, to cover bottom and sides of dish. (Edges of pasta should hang over sides by about 2 inches.)
• Top with 3/4 cup squash filling, and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon amaretti cookies. Top with 1 sheet of pasta (fill in any gaps with pieces of another sheet if needed), trimming edges as needed so that pasta fits neatly in dish.
• Top pasta with 3/4 cup bechamel and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Continue layering in same order (pasta, squash and amaretti, pasta, bechamel and Parmesan) until you reach the top of the dish, ending with 1 sheet of pasta (you may need to fill in gaps with pieces of another sheet; you should have 10 layers of pasta). Fold in the overhang from the first layer of pasta to create a package. Trim pasta sheets as needed to prevent too much overlap, then spread remaining bechamel over top.
• Bake, covered with parchment-lined foil, for 20 minutes. Uncover, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Bake until top is browned, about 35 minutes more. Let cool slightly before serving.