Sunday, December 19, 2010

Tonight's Dinner - Local Squash Lasagna

I have made this dish several times already this fall its delicious and in my opinion better than a traditional lasagna. If you have fresh kale, swiss chard, and squash around - make this recipe and you wont be disappointed.

Tonight was the first time I used fresh lasagna noodles and it was noticeable, but definitely not a must.

Another plus of this dish is that you can make it ahead of time and then just pop it into the oven about 45 to 50 minutes before you plan to serve it.


Click to enlarge

What you need:
Lasagna Noodles
2 to 3 Medium Size Squash Halved and seeds removed
1 wedge of a nice Italian Fontina Grated
1 Container of Fresh Ricotta
2 Onions Thinly Sliced
1 bunch of Kale Chopped
1 bunch of Swiss Chard Chopped
1 handful of Sage
1 Cup of Parmesan Grated
1/4 teaspoon of Ground Nutmeg
Juice of 1 Lemon
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil
*Optional, but a great addition is chicken apple sausage removed from the casing and browned in a sauté pan.

Preheat the oven to 450 and roast the halved squash on a foil lined backing sheet seasoned with a little salt, pepper, and olive oil until fork tender. While the squash is in the oven caramelize the onions over medium high heat in a bit of olive oil until very tender and brown. Grate the fontina. Juice the lemon and stir into the ricotta. Chop the kale and swiss chard and sauté until tender. Remove the squash from the oven and set aside until cool enough to handle.

Then scoop out the flesh and any juice from the squash into a food processor and add in a heavy pour of olive oil, the sage, nutmeg and half of the parmesan, half the onions, salt and pepper and blend until pureed.

Drizzle a bit of olive oil into the bottom of the lasagna pan and add a spoonful of the squash puree, lasagna noodles (fresh or hard uncooked), ricotta, sauteed swiss chard / kale, fontina, squash, lasagna noodles (fresh or hard uncooked), ricotta, sauteed swiss chard / kale, fontina, squash and top with the browned chicken apple sausage if you are using it, and the remaining fontina.

Put into a 425 degree oven covered in non stick foil for 45 minutes. Remove foil and add remaining parmesan and return to the oven for a few minutes to brown the top of the cheese.


Click to enlarge

1 comment:

  1. NIce to see you back and the recipe looks delicious (again).

    ReplyDelete