Butternut Squash/Sage Lasagna

My friend Melinda made this for our Holiday book club dinner.  I finally got around to making it for my family last night.  My husband LOVED it.  My kids tolerated it but I will definitely make it again.  It is a Martha Stewart recipe.




INGREDIENTS 

Serves 8. 

3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, 

seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper 

1 pound whole-milk ricotta cheese 

1/2 cup heavy cream 

2 large egg yolks 

1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, 

coarsely grated (2 cups) 

Freshly grated nutmeg 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

1/3 cup loosely packed fresh sage 

leaves, coarsely chopped 

1 1/4 cups homemade or store-bought 

low-sodium chicken stock 

Fresh Lasagna Noodles, (you will need 

only 1/2 of the batch), cut into 

4-by-13-inch strips and cooked, or store- 

bought dried noodles, cooked 

4 ounces finely grated Parmesan cheese 

(1 1/4 cups) 

DIRECTIONS 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash, oil, and 1 

teaspoon salt on a baking sheet. Season with pepper. Bake 

until light gold and tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool. 

2. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Combine 

ricotta, cream, yolks, mozzarella, and a pinch of nutmeg in 

a medium bowl. Season with salt. 

3. Melt butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. 

As soon as it starts to sizzle, add sage, and cook until light 

gold and slightly crisp at edges, 3 to 4 minutes. 

4. Place squash in a medium bowl, and mash 1/2 of it with 

the back of a wooden spoon, leaving the other 1/2 in whole 

pieces. Gently stir in sage-butter mixture and stock. Season 

with salt and pepper. 

5. Spread 3/4 cup of ricotta mixture in a 9-cup baking dish. 

Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1/2 of the butternut 

squash mixture over noodles. Top with a layer of noodles. 

Spread 1 cup of ricotta mixture over noodles. Repeat 

layering once more (noodles, squash, noodles, ricotta). 

Sprinkle Parmesan over ricotta mixture. 

6. Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake 

until cheese is golden and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let 

stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving. 

   

Notes from Melinda (which I followed): Here is the recipe I used on Thursday. It may look involved, but it really isn't bad. I put it together in the morning and stuck it in the fridge until it was time to bake. I used 12 regular lasagna noodles in a 9"x13" pan, but I think I would have been happier with 16. If you read the recipe, it calls for four layers of noodles and I ended up with three. Or maybe I should have used a narrower dish. The squash mixture seemed loose as I was mixing it, so I only added a cup of chicken stock. It thickened as it baked. I used one 2-lbs pack of pre-cut butternut squash from the cold produce room at Costco. I would recommend the extra cost of fresh mozzarella. I can never shred the stuff, so I just cubed it fairly small. Costco has a 2-lbs pack that isn't exorbitant. I used low-fat ricotta. I can never tell a difference. Cooking the sage in butter is really worth the effort.