Description
A great use of late harvest squash, and incorporating it into a lasagna.
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 1 whole Delicata Squash, Sliced In Half, Seeds Removed
- 1 whole Small Butternut Squash, Sliced In Half, Seeds Removed
- 1 pound Ground Chuck, Cooked, And Fat Removed
- 2 whole Mild Italian Sausage Links, Casing Removed, Cooked And Fat Removed
- 1 pinch Red Chili Flakes
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 3 cups Your Favorite Tomato Sauce
- 1 whole Egg, Beaten
- 15 ounces, weight Part-skim Ricotta Cheese
- 1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- 1-½ teaspoon Salt To Taste
- ½ teaspoons Cracked Black Pepper
- ½ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese, Divided
- 9 whole Sheets Of Lasagna, Oven Ready, Or Par Boiled
- 3 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Spread butter on squashes and add squashes to a baking sheet. Cook flesh side up for about 45 minutes, or until fork tender. Once squash is cooked, scrape out, and mix into a bowl. You will only need about 2 cups, but feel free to use more or less based on your preference.
Cook beef and sausage in a large skillet. Break meat apart as it cooks to prevent large clumps. Drain, removing the fat, then return meat to skillet over medium heat. Add a pinch of salt, some cracked black pepper, red chili flakes, and garlic powder. Give a good stir, cooking for a minute or two, then add tomato sauce. Stir, and let this reduce down a bit, cooking for about 10 minutes.
To another mixing bowl, add egg, ricotta cheese, squash, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and half of the Parmesan cheese. Mix well so that squash is fully incorporated into the cheeses.
Now let’s get to this lasagna. Take a good ladle of the meat sauce, and add to the bottom of your lasagna dish. Add lasagna sheets (mine fit three to the pan).
Next, generously add enough of the ricotta and squash mixture to cover the pasta sheets. Lightly sprinkle on mozzarella cheese, then more meat mixture, pasta cheese, more ricotta mixture, more cheese, more sauce, then remaining pasta sheets. Cover with meat sauce, then cover with cheese. Shower with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
Spray the back of some aluminum foil with some cooking spray. I’ve found this to prevent all of that wonderful cheese from sticking onto the foil when removing from the oven.
Cover the baking dish, and place into a 375ºF oven, cooking for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the foil, and continue to cook for about 20 more minutes or until cheese is nice and golden.
Let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing into squares.
The end result was everything that is wonderful about a great lasagna, but there was that bit of hidden sweetness from the blended squash that made this one even better. After my wife and kids were finished eating, I said “So how did everyone like the squash?” They had confused looks on their face, but all replied that they had no clue it was in there, and loved every bite. What’s not to love about that?
