Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

This was the recipe Gerry used to make the vegetarian lasagna that Judah requested for Christmas dinner. Gerry also made his own special meat lasagna, too.

Photo from Juliasalbum.com

This recipe is from Julia's Album.  There are a few adaptations. I pureed the squash filling in a food processor into a smooth mixture. I pureed the spinach mixture gently, leaving pieces of spinach intact. Gerry used no-cook noodles and did not use paprika on top of the lasagna, as requested in Julia's recipe.

Butternut Squash Filling:

·    2 cups butternut squash (roasted for about 30 minutes in the oven and pureed - about half of a squash)
·    1 cup ricotta cheese
·    ½ cup milk or more, if needed
·    ¼ teaspoon salt plus ⅛ teaspoon more

·    ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

Spinach Filling:

·    8 oz fresh spinach
·    1 cup ricotta cheese
·    1 cup mozzarella cheese
·    2 garlic cloves minced
·    ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste

Other Ingredients:

10 oz lasagna noodles cooked (Gerry used to no-cook but soaked them in very warm water for 15 minutes before assembling. They can sit in the warm water longer.)

1-½ cups mozzarella cheese or more

½ cup Parmesan cheese on top

¼ teaspoon Italian seasoning

¼ teaspoon dried basil

Instructions 

1.   Preheat oven to 375 F.

Butternut Squash Filling:

1.  Using food processor, combine 2 cups of butternut squash puree with the ricotta cheese, milk, salt and nutmeg. Add more milk if needed (to make the butternut squash filling very creamy). Mix very well, taste and add more salt, if needed.

Spinach Filling:

1.  Saute the fresh spinach in a bit of oil and a half of a lemon (zested and juiced.) Combine the sauteed spinach with ricotta cheese, mozzarella, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor until blended. Taste, and add more salt and pepper, if needed.

Cooking lasagna noodles:

1.  Bring a very large pot of water to boil, and cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions. Rinse in cold water, drain. Using knife, trim noodles to fit your baking dish (if necessary). Or simply do as I did with no-cook noodles.

How to assemble the lasagna:

1.   Prepare a baking dish - Gerry used a pottery baking dish 11 inches x 8.5 inches x 3 inches deep. Grease the lasagna dish lightly with olive oil spray. Spread ⅓ of butternut squash filling on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle lightly with mozzarella cheese. Top with cooked lasagna noodles without overlapping.

2.    Spread half of spinach filling over the noodles. Top lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Top with cooked noodles.

3.    Spread another layer (⅓) of butternut squash mixture, then sprinkle lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Top with cooked noodles.

4.   Spread the remaining half of spinach filling over the noodles. Top lightly with Mozzarella cheese. Top with the final layer of cooked noodles.

5.   Spread a generous amount of butternut squash filling (the remaining ⅓) over this final layer of noodles, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and remaining mozzarella cheese (about ½ cup of mozzarella). Generously sprinkle the cheese with Italian seasoning, and  basil.

6.    Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 30 min. Remove foil and bake additional 10 minutes.