Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagna

Book Update: I have no books 🙁 I have been spending my spare time making our Christmas card and talking to our medical insurance company. They denied my husband’s surgery, so I have had the pleasure of chatting with the surgeon’s office, the medical insurance company and my husband. It is scheduled for next Wednesday… but it isn’t approved. How that happened I dunno. The saga continues….

In the meantime, here is our Christmas card!

Recipe: Even my meat-loving husband liked this recipe. That’s how good it is. I know lasagna always screams beef or sausage, but this one is really, really good. Gooey cheese, roasted squash, caramelized onions and a hint of sage do a dance in your mouth. It was well worth finding fresh sage in the winter time (which is $1.69 at Trader Joe’s) and locating a small amount of fontina cheese (only $3 at Trader Joe’s). Trader Joe’s also carries pre-cut butternut squash. I would use at least 3-4 bags.

Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagna
serves 6-8

1 large butternut squash or 2 small/medium, peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes
2 Tb. olive oil
kosher salt
1 onion, halved and sliced

Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter (original says 2, but then the sauce doesn’t come together with equal parts in the roux)
10 sage leaves
1/4 cup AP flour
2-4 cups milk (2 cups for a thicker sauce, 4 cups for a very thin sauce; 3 cups is a good medium to cover the noodles without oozing) (warm/room temperature milk works into the sauce well)
pinch of ground nutmeg

Lasagna:
1 cup grated fontina cheese (4 oz.)
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (4 oz.)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese (or substitute with more mozzarella and fontina)
1 Tb. flour
9 NO boil lasagna noodles

1. Step One: Roast the veggies! Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss the veggies in the oil and place on a rimmed baking sheet (foil makes easy clean up) Roast the squash 18 minutes. Pull out the onion sooner – around 10-12 minutes.
2. Step Two: Make the sauce. In a saucepan, melt the butter. On medium heat, add the sage and cook for 1 minute. Remove the sage leaves. Whisk in the flour. Cook that about 2 minutes to make the roux. Lots of whisking! Now whisk in the milk just a little at a time. Warmed up milk seems to incorporate better. Keep stirring it all in and boil. Once at a boil, turn down to low and simmer 5 minutes. Add nutmeg. (Next time I’ll do 2 pinches, but I like nutmeg) If the sauce still stays lumpy, it will be okay. Just keep chugging. The sauce will turn out great out of the oven.
3. Step Three: Make the lasagna. Line a 9×13 dish with some nonstick foil or butter. Mix the cheese with the flour. Set aside about 1/2 cup for the top! Lay 1/2 cup of the sauce at the bottom of the dish. Layer 3 noodles. Layer 1/3 of the sauce. Layer half the cheese. Layer half the veggies. Add 3 more noodles. Layer 1/3 sauce. Layer rest of the cheese. Layer rest of the veggies. Add final 3 noodles and the rest of the sauce. Cover the top with that 1/2 cup cheese you set aside. Cover with foil sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 45 minutes. Take off the foil and broil the drop for 2 minutes. Rest for 15 minutes before cutting.