Kris
I remember the first time I made this dish quite clearly. It was not long after I started my post-baccalaureate in Biology and the reality of my situation [read: I’M BROKE!] was really sinking in. I was still basking in the victory of my last complicated attempt at cooking–a chicken coq au vin–and was hungry for something else that was complicated. I had never cooked with butternut squash nor created a béchamel sauce before… but was convinced I was more than up to the challenge.
My poor husband and mother. They were so supportive of my cooking at the time and ate it without complaint, but it was not very good. I spent most of the time almost cutting myself with the dull knife I was using on the squash, and the rest of the time trying to pull my knife out of said squash. Needless to say, the squash was in huge chunks and didn’t cook thoroughly. I looked up “is squash okay for dogs” and it is so I fed some to our dog. I burned myself while trying to boil the lasagna. I didn’t chop up the sage leaves and left them in the lasagna whole, making each bite a sage-y surprise. And the béchamel sauce–it looked like clotted cream. It was a hot mess, but the me of three years ago was fiercely proud of it. (Seriously, I still have the picture of it! Oh, the embarrassment.) Lucky for me (and my husband especially), I’ve gotten much better at cooking since then.
I don’t usually cook with butternut squash–James isn’t a fan–but I ended up with a leftover squash after a dinner party and decided to have another go at the lasagna. And it turned out absolutely sublime. The caramelized, roasted cubes of butternut squash almost melt into the creamy béchamel–but still offer a sensory ‘bite’, much like meat. The fresh sage is subdued but not underrepresented, and plays off the sweetness of the squash nicely. The mozzarella cheese is a nice, salty touch. And the sweet Italian sausage packs a savory punch, making this lasagna the full package and the real seasonal deal.
I won’t lie–this is not a quick or easy dish to make. Just prepping the squash alone takes 15-20 minutes–cutting off the skin, dicing, scooping out the seeds, and so on. But I think that this is one of my favorite ways to use butternut squash in a way that is more savory than sweet. I tagged this recipe as being vegetarian, even though I clearly have Italian sausage on the ingredients list–to be honest, you can leave the sausage out completely and this dish will be a vegetarian crowd-pleaser! I would add a little more salt and pepper to the béchamel if you are leaving out the meat to make sure that the sweetness of the squash doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the dish.
This lasagna would be right at home with the rest of your Thanksgiving spread–or just a nice, hearty meal for you & your family on a cold winter night. And if your lasagna looks as busted as my old one did–don’t worry, you’ll get there eventually! I’m certainly no Julia Child, but I can look back at my progress from four years ago and laugh. 🙂
