Squash And Chestnut Lasagna Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss squash, oil, and 1 teaspoon salt on a baking sheet. Season with pepper. Bake until light gold and tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool.
• Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. Combine ricotta, cream, yolks, mozzarella, and a pinch of nutmeg in a medium bowl. Season with salt.
• Melt butter in a small saute pan over medium-high heat. As soon as it starts to sizzle, add sage, and cook until light gold and slightly crisp at edges, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Place squash in a medium bowl, and mash 1/2 of it with the back of a wooden spoon, leaving the other 1/2 in whole pieces. Gently stir in sage-butter mixture and stock. Season with salt and pepper.
• Spread 3/4 cup of ricotta mixture in a 9-cup baking dish. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1/2 of the butternut squash mixture over noodles. Top with a layer of noodles. Spread 1 cup of ricotta mixture over noodles. Repeat layering once more (noodles, squash, noodles, ricotta). Sprinkle Parmesan over ricotta mixture.
• Place baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake until cheese is golden and bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Steps:

• Make filling:
• Cook onion in butter in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes. Add squash, garlic, salt, and white pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is just tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, sage, and nuts. Cool filling.
• Make sauce while squash cooks:
• Cook garlic in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, 1 minute. Whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk in a stream, whisking. Add bay leaf and bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 10 minutes. Whisk in salt and white pepper and remove from heat. Discard bay leaf. (Cover surface of sauce with wax paper if not using immediately.)
• Assemble lasagne:
• Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Toss cheeses together. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in a buttered 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish (or other shallow 3-quart baking dish) and cover with 3 pasta sheets, leaving spaces between sheets. Spread with 2/3 cup sauce and one third of filling, then sprinkle with a heaping 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layering 2 more times, beginning with pasta sheets and ending with cheese. Top with remaining 3 pasta sheets, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese.
• Tightly cover baking dish with buttered foil and bake lasagne in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until golden and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let lasagne stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Place the pancetta in a large skillet over a medium flame. Cook for 5 minutes, until slightly crispy. Toss in the onion and olive oil and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic, sage, and chestnuts to the pan and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often. Toss in the squash pieces, chicken stock, and freshly grated nutmeg. Cover to steam. Let the squash cook for 20 minutes or until soft. Allow the stock to evaporate and then toss the squash and chestnut mixture into a large mixing bowl with the egg and ricotta. Stir and press with a wooden spoon. You can pulse with an immersion blender if you desire. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• The lasagna will resemble ribbon candy when finished. To assemble the lasagna, place the pasta sheet on your work surface. Coat the first 4 inches of the pasta with the squash filling and fold the long end of the pasta over the layer. Spread the next side of the pasta with a thin layer of the filling, fold over the pasta sheet, again about 4 inches, to cover the bottom layers. Sprinkle with pecorino and fold over the pasta again. Repeat until you have used the full length of the pasta sheet. Sprinkle the top with Pecorino and a sage leaf. Transfer to a greased sheet pan. Repeat for the remaining 3 sheets of pasta to make 4 "free form" lasagnas. Place the pan in the oven to bake for 20 minutes.
• To make the pasta dough: Combine the flour and salt on a flat work surface; shape into a mound and make a well in the center. Add the eggs and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the well and lightly beat with a fork. Gradually draw in the flour from the inside wall of the well in a circular motion. Use one hand for mixing and the other to protect the outer wall. Continue to incorporate all the flour until it forms a ball. Knead and fold the dough until elastic and smooth, this should take about 10 minutes. Brush the surface with the remaining olive oil and wrap the dough in plastic wrap; let rest for about 30 minutes to allow the gluten to relax.
• Cut the ball of dough in half, cover and reserve the piece you are not immediately using to prevent it from drying out. Dust the counter and dough with a little flour. Form the dough into a rectangle and roll it through a pasta machine, 2 or 3 times, at widest setting. Pull and stretch the sheet of dough with the palm of your hand as it emerges from the rollers. Reduce the setting and crank the dough through again, 2 or 3 times. Continue tightening until the machine is at the narrowest setting; the dough should be paper-thin, about 1/8-inch thick (keep in mind, overly thick pasta tastes gummy.) Make 4 pieces, about 20-inches long and 6-inches wide.
• Right before assembling the lasagna, bring 5 quarts of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta sheets in the water, one at a time, for 2 minutes each. Drain, cool and set aside till ready to use.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Soak the lasagna noodles in warm water.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, onions and salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and browned, about 10 minutes. If the mixture becomes too dry, add a tablespoon or two of water.
• Meanwhile, stir together 1/2 cup of the milk and the cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth. Heat the remaining 3 1/2 cups milk in a large saucepan until bubbling. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the milk and bring to a boil. Simmer, stirring, until the milk thickens to the consistency of a thin batter, about 5 minutes. Stir in the onion mixture, spinach, parsley and nutmeg, and cook until the spinach wilts. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
• Drain the noodles. Spread 1 cup of the spinach mixture over the bottom of a 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles over the spinach. Arrange half of the squash over the noodles, overlapping slightly, and sprinkle with one-third of the mozzarella. Spoon 1 cup spinach mixture over the cheese, and top with 3 noodles, the remaining squash and another third of the mozzarella. Top with 1 cup spinach mixture, followed by the last 3 noodles and the remaining 1 cup spinach mixture. Cover tightly with foil; reserve the remaining mozzarella.
• Bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the top. Bake until bubbling and the squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Tip the squash and garlic into a large roasting tin or dish (you can use the same one to assemble the lasagne to save on washing-up - ours was 35 x 40cm and 5cm deep). Tear over 4-5 sage leaves, drizzle with the oil and season well, then toss to coat. Roast for 40-50 mins, moving the squash around once or twice, until soft and caramelised. Squeeze the garlic from the skins and mash with the squash, leaving a few chunky bits for texture.
• Meanwhile, make the white sauce. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and stir in the flour to make a sandy paste. Splash a little milk into the pan, stirring continuously to prevent lumps. Keep adding more milk, a little at a time, until the paste thins to a smooth, creamy sauce and the milk has all been used. Simmer for 1 min more. Stir in the mascarpone and half the parmesan. Season well and grate in a generous amount of nutmeg.
• Tip the spinach into a colander and pour over a kettleful of boiling water to wilt (do this in batches). Once cool enough to handle, squeeze the spinach over the colander to remove the water, then season and roughly chop.
• Remove half of the crushed garlicky squash from the roasting tin and set aside on a plate. Spread the remaining squash out over the base of the tin or dish you intend to serve the lasagne in. Ladle over about a quarter of the sauce, then top with a single layer of lasagne sheets, snapping them to fill any gaps. Make an even layer of spinach on top of the pasta, and top with another quarter of the sauce, more pasta, squash, sauce, pasta and finally the remaining white sauce.
• Scatter over the remaining parmesan, the mozzarella and pine nuts. If the oven is off, heat to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and cook the lasagne for 30 mins. Rub a little extra oil over 5 or 6 sage leaves, place them on top of the lasagne and return to the oven for another 15-20 mins until golden and bubbling. Leave to cool for 5 mins before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Cut the squash into big chunks, brush the exposed flesh with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and place on the baking sheet. Bake 45 minutes or until squash is tender enough to be pierced through to the skin with a paring knife. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until you can handle it, then cut away the skin and cut in thin slices. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees
• While the squash is in the oven, make the béchamel. Heat the remaining oil over medium heat in a heavy medium saucepan. Add the shallot or onion and cook, stirring, until it has softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and bubbling, but not browned. It should have the texture of wet sand. Whisk in the milk all at once and bring to a simmer, whisking all the while, until the mixture begins to thicken. Turn the heat to very low and simmer, stirring often with a whisk and scraping the bottom and edges of the pan with a rubber spatula, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the sauce is thick and has lost its raw flour taste. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Strain while hot into a large measuring cup or a medium bowl and stir in 1/4 cup of the Parmesan and 1 tablespoon of the sage
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a rectangular baking dish. Spread a spoonful of béchamel over the bottom. Top with a layer of lasagna noodles. Spread a thin layer of the béchamel over the noodles. Top with half the squash. Season the squash with salt and pepper and sprinkle with Parmesan. Repeat the layers, ending with a layer of lasagna noodles topped with béchamel and Parmesan. Sprinkle the remaining sage over the top. Make sure the noodles are well coated with béchamel so they will soften during baking
• Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and place in the oven. Bake 40 minutes, until the noodles are tender and the mixture is bubbling. Uncover and, if you wish, bake another 5 to 10 minutes until the top begins to brown. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving