Sage, Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Lasagna

 Hey Friends! Its been a while. This weekend I felt particularly inspired to whip up a new recipe and it was such an amazing recipe, I just couldn't wait to share it with you. I'll pre-warn you - its a lot of work - see the full sink of dishes in the last picture! Since all three of the sauces are made from scratch, its a bit of work. But the results are soooo delicious - well worth the extra work! Save it for a weekend and do it up!

Sage, Butternut Squash & Goat Cheese Lasagna
Recipe adapted from Meals in Heels by Jennifer Joyce

Ingredients:

• 2 kg butternut squash, seeds removed, cut into chunks
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 heads garlic, top 1/4 inch trimmed
• 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp. chopped sage leaves, plus 15 whole leaves
• one package of fresh lasagna pasta sheets
• 1 cup coarsely grated parmesano reggiano

Tomato Sauce:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 package mild Italian sausage
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1.2 kg tinned whole roma tomatoes, pureed in a food processor
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Goat Cheese Béchamel

• 2 1/2 oz butter
• 1/3 cup plain flour
• 3 cups 1% milk
• 100g goat cheese

Method:

1. Preheat oven 400F. Place butternut squash on two baking trays, drizzle over a little oil and season well with salt and pepper. Drizzle garlic with a little oil and season with salt and pepper, wrap in foil and place on tray. Roast for 40 minutes or until the squash and garlic are soft. Remove the foil from garlic and set aside with squash to cool. Reduce heat to 350F.
2. Heat remaining oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and chopped sage and cook for 8-10 minutes or until softened. Add squash, squeeze the roasted garlic from their skins into the pan, season with salt and pepper and roughly mash. Place in food processor and puree until very smooth. Set aside.
3. To make the tomato sauce, brown sausage in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes until golden. Add pureed tomato and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cover with lid and let simmer for 40 minutes or until thickened. Set aside.
4. To make béchamel sauce - melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir continuously wit a whisk for two minutes or until mixture becomes slightly coloured. Pour in milk and whisk quickly until there are no lumps. Continue whisking for another five minutes or until béchamel thickens. Add the cheese and stir until melted and smooth. Set aside.
5. To assemble the lasagna - spread a little tomato sauce over base of 4 litre capacity baking dish (you'll need a fairly big one - you can see mine overflowed a bit when it baked because I didn't have a large enough pan). Cover with a layer of lasagna noodle sheets. Spread over one-third each of béchamel, then mashed pumpkin and tomato sauce. Repeat two more times, finishing with a layer of tomato sauce. Then sprinkle liberally with parmesan (you'll have some extra left over to sprinkle on slices when you serve). Scatter over the whole sage leaves and bake for 40 minutes or until golden. Remove and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

And that's that! It is a lovely flavour combination and was a huge hit with my family! I will definitely be making this one again! You can also make it ahead by making your sauces, assembling the lasagna and then refrigerating or freezing until you're ready to bake it. I hope you enjoy!

Happy Cooking my Friends!