Roasted Pumpkin Lasagna Food

PUMPKIN LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a large heavy skillet, over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in the olive oil until translucent. Add sausage and cook until brown, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add zucchini and cook for 5 more minutes. Set aside.
• In a medium pot combine tomato sauce and red wine and bring to a boil over medium-low heat. Adjust seasoning with kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, to taste. If desired, add more spices to your liking. (I usually add dry oregano, basil, and parsley). Reduce heat to low, cover and let it simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• In a large bowl mixing together the ricotta, mozzarella and romano cheeses. Add eggs, pumpkin puree and salt and pepper, to taste. Mix very well. You might want to add more spices to the filling. (You can add a pinch of cinnamon and it gave it a different flavor.)
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Build your lasagna in a large (9 by 12-inch) baking dish starting with a layer of sauce, a layer of pasta, a layer of half the sausage and a layer of half the filling. Add another layer of pasta, sauce, the remaining sausage and the filling. Finish with a layer of pasta and a layer of sauce. Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese on top and bake for 25 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

ROAST PUMPKIN & SPINACH LASAGNE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Halve the pumpkin or squash, peel, deseed, then slice into 1cm slices. Toss with the oil in a roasting tin, season, then roast until tender and slightly charred at the edges. This can take up to 40 mins.
• Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. In a pan, soften the onion in the oil for 5 mins, then add the celery and garlic and cook for 1 min more. Add the tomatoes and sugar, then leave to simmer, uncovered, for 30 mins. Stir from time to time. You should be left with a thick purée. Season to taste.
• Put the spinach in a saucepan with the water that still clings to it after washing, cover and put over a medium heat. Wilt the spinach for about 4 mins - you'll need to turn it over with tongs every so often to make sure it all comes in contact with the heat at the bottom of the pan. When completely wilted, leave until cool enough to handle, then squeeze the water out with your hands. Chop and put in a pan with the butter. Gently heat, tossing together so the spinach is coated in butter, then season with salt, pepper and a generous grating of nutmeg.
• For the béchamel sauce, bring the milk to the boil in a pan with the peppercorns, onion and bay leaf. Set aside for 5 mins to infuse, then strain the milk into another pan. Add the flour and butter, then gently heat, whisking all the while, until you have a thick, smooth sauce.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and assemble the lasagne. Butter a large gratin or baking dish, roughly 1.4 litres in capacity. Put a layer of pumpkin in the bottom followed by a layer of tomato sauce. Lay lasagne sheets on top of this, cutting them to fit if necessary (you don't want any overlapping). Now add a layer of béchamel followed by a scattering of spinach and half the cheese. Top with more lasagne sheets, pumpkin, tomato sauce, more lasagne and a final layer of béchamel sauce. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake for 40 mins, or until the lasagne is golden and bubbling.

ROASTED PUMPKIN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. Peel pumpkin; cut in half lengthwise; discard seeds or save for toasting. Cut into 1/4-in. thick slices. Place in a single layer on two greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Drizzle with oil; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt nutmeg. Roast until tender, 30-35 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°., Meanwhile, cook lasagna noodles according to package directions for al dente. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir until tender, 6-7 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in flour and remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt until smooth; gradually whisk in milk and sage. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir until thickened, 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in Parmesan cheese. Drain noodles., Place 3 noodles in a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Layer with 1/3 of the pumpkin, 1-1/3 cups sauce and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining noodles, sauce and mozzarella cheese., Bake, covered, 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until golden brown bubbly 30-35 minutes longer. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving. If desired, sprinkle with red pepper flakes.

PUMPKIN LASAGNA

Steps:

• In a small skillet, saute the mushrooms, onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt in oil until tender; set aside. In a small bowl, combine the pumpkin, cream, sage, pepper and remaining salt., Spread 1/2 cup pumpkin sauce in an 11x7-in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with 3 noodles (noodles will overlap slightly). Spread 1/2 cup pumpkin sauce to edges of noodles. Top with half of mushroom mixture, 1/2 cup ricotta, 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles and sauce., Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting. Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked lasagna. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Preheat oven to 375°. Bake as directed, increasing time as necessary to heat through and for a thermometer inserted in center to read 165°.

BOXING DAY FESTIVE ROAST PUMPKIN AND CHEESE LASAGNE - LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/400F/gas 6, slipping in a baking sheet as you do.
• To make the pumpkin filling: heat the oil and butter in a shallow casserole dish or roasting tin and fry the sage leaves over a gentle heat for about 2 minutes. Add the chopped onion and minced garlic to the pan and fry very gently for another 10 minutes or so. Add the pumpkin pieces, turn well in the oniony oil and then add the vermouth (or wine), the water and chopped tomatoes. Roast in a pre-heated oven for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning - I tend to add quite a bit of salt here - and leave to cool.
• For the tomato sauce: simply pour the chopped tomatoes and water into a large jug or bowl, and stir in the sugar, salt and pepper, whisking it all together.
• To make up the cheese layer: in a separate bowl beat the goat's cheese, cream cheese, Cheddar and ricotta with the eggs, nutmeg, and salt and pepper to taste.
• To assemble the lasagne, begin by putting 500ml of the cold tomato sauce in the bottom of a roasting tin (measuring approx 36cm x 26cm x 6cm). Then layer with a third of the lasagne sheets, overlapping them well. Leave the rest of the tomato sauce aside for the time being.
• Layer a third of the pumpkin filling over the lasagne, and dollop on a third of the cheese mixture, coaxing with a rubber spatula. It won't cover completely; think more of spreading blobs about. Then start again with a layer of lasagne, followed by pumpkin, then the cheese. Repeat once more - lasagne, pumpkin, and the last of the cheese mixture. Pour the remaining cold tomato sauce over, letting it sink down and be absorbed in the layers. Slice and chop the mozzarella balls and dot over the top.
• Cook in the oven, on the baking sheet, for 1 hour. Once cooked, take out of the oven and let it stand for 15-30 minutes to make cutting and serving easier. (I love this when it's been standing for an hour or so, too.) As you cut and slice, you will notice a shallow tomatoey cheesy pool at the bottom of the tin; bread dunked into this is gorgeous.
• Sprinkle the toasted pine nuts over the lasagne, and cut into squares to serve.
• MAKE AHEAD TIP Up to 2 days ahead, make the pumpkin filling, leave to cool and keep, covered, in the fridge. Make the cheese layer and keep, covered, in the fridge. When ready to use, assemble the lasagne and cook as directed.
• FREEZE AHEAD TIP Cook, cool and freeze the cooked pumpkin for up to 1 week. Thaw overnight in the fridge. When ready to use, assemble the lasagne and cook as directed.