Harvest Vegetarian Lasagna
For Supper Challenge this week, the theme is “layers.” With fall in full swing, I’m looking for comfort food and a challenge – so harvest vegetarian lasagna??!! If I’m going to all veggie, those veggies better stand out and be full flavored.
Alright, veggies, layer up!
Harvest Vegetarian Lasagna – Butternut Squash, Mushrooms & Spinach
Harvest colors, healthy options and comfort food, says "Yes, please!" Makes 2 8×8 pans
Equipment
- 2 pans of 8"x8" glass or metal pans
Ingredients
- 6-8 sheets of Lasagna noodles 2 layers to cover 2 x8x8 dishes
Butternut Squash
- 2 medium sized butternut squash peeled and cut into ¾ to 1” cubes (~6-8 cups)
- ¾ cup of chicken broth or water
Onion Mushroom Mixture
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion diced fine
- 4 cloves of garlic minced fine
- 10 large brown cremini mushrooms diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh sage
Bechamel Cheese Sauce
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
- 2 cup Full fat or homo milk
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 ½ cup meltable cheese mozzarella, cheddar, gouda, Monterey jack, Havarti etc.
Spinach Mixture
- 2 packages of 500g frozen spinach thawed in a bowl
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh sage minced fine
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley minced fine
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
Cottage Cheese Mixture
- 3 cups of cottage cheese dry curds or strained if using “regular”
- 1 large egg
Sour Cream Garnish
- ½ cup sour cream to garnish – adds fresh zing when serving
Instructions
Butternut Squash
- In a large pot on medium heat, cook butternut cubes with chicken broth (or water) with lid on put until tender about 10-15 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside to cool. Most of the water or broth will have cooked off or been absorbed by butternut squash.
Onion Mushroom Mixture
- In a large frying pan on medium heat, add one tablespoon vegetable oil. When oil is hot and shimmering, add onions and garlic and cook until starting to be softened, about 5 minutes.
- To the frying pan, add mushrooms and cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes.
- To onion mushroom mixture, add 1 teaspoon fresh sage, ¼ teaspoon salt and stir to combine. Take onion mushroom mixture off the heat and set aside to cool.
Bechamel Cheese Sauce
- In small saucepan on medium heat, whisk butter and flour together to create paste as butter melts. Cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute to cook the flour.
- To prevent lumps, constantly whisk while slowly pouring milk into saucepan to create a milky sauce.
- Allow the sauce to thicken on the heat for 2-3 minutes and gently stir from time to time. Sauce should coat the back of spoon.
- Remove saucepan off the heat and add salt and cheese and stir to combine. Set aside
Spinach Mixture
- Squeeze out moisture from defrosted spinach by squeezing out handfuls or by placing in a fine strainer and pressing moisture out. Place spinach into a medium sized bowl
- Add salt, sage, parsley and thyme to spinach mixture
- Stir to combine.
Cottage Cheese Mixture
- Add 1 egg to the cottage cheese container and stir to combine.
Pasta
- In a large saucepan, boil water and cook lasagna noodles before it reaches al dente, about 4-6 minutes depending on the noodles used.
Lasagna Assembly
- Layer Butternut Squash on bottom of both pans
- Layer Lasagna Noodle on top
- Layer Spinach Mixture on top
- Layer Onion Mushroom Mixture on top
- Layer Butternut Squash on top
- Layer Spinach Mixture on top
- Layer Onion Mushroom Mixture on top
- Pour/ ladle Bechamel Cheese Sauce across the top of lasagna, ensuring the top surface is fully coated.
- Cook lasagna in 350F oven for 20-30 minutes until warmed through. Broil for 2 minutes for bechamel to brown the top.
- Cool at least 10 minutes before serving, otherwise allthe layers will slide away from each other on the plate.
- Serve with teaspoon of sour cream for added freshness.
