Butternut-Kale Lasagna

I’ve been scared of making lasagna for a long time.  It’s the thought of trying to measure up to my mom’s amazing recipe that held me back.

Fear, you have been conquered.

This recipe is from Cooking Light magazine, March 2013.

One substitution was made, noted below.

1/4 c water
12 oz package prechopped fresh butternut squash
3 c pre-chopped kale – Trader Joes was out of kale when I was shopping, so I substituted fresh spinach
1 tblsp olive oil
1 1/2 tblsp minced garlic
1.1 oz all-purpose flour (approx 1/4 c)
2 3/4 c 1 % low fat milk, divided
2 oz Gruyere cheese, shredded and divided
1 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Cooking Spray
6 no boil lasagna noodles
3 tblsp chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine 1/4 c water and squash in a 8 inch square baking dish.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap; pierce plastic wrap 2 to 3 times.  Microwave on HIGH 5 minutes or until tender; drain.  Combine squash and kale in a large bowl.  Wipe baking dish dry. – The squash and spinach were great, but a little lumpy.  In the future, I would run this mixture through the food processor to create a more cohesive mixture.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Add garlic; cook 2 minutes or until garlic begins to brown, stirring occasionally.  Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife.  Combine flower and 1/2 c milk in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until smooth.  Add milk mixture and remaining 2 1/4c milk to pan; increase heat to med-high.  bring to a boil; cook 1 minute or until thickened, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat.  Stir in 1 oz Gruyere, Parm-Reggiano, salt and pepper; stir until cheese melts.

Coat baking dish with cooking spray.  Spread 1/3 c milk mixture in bottom of dish.  Arrange 2 noodles over milk mixture; top with half of squash mixture and 2/3 c milk mixture.  Repeat layers once, ending with remaining noodles and remaining milk mixture.  Cover with foil; bake at 450 for 15 minutes.  Remove foil; sprinkle remaining Gruyere and pecans over top.  Bake uncovered, at 450 for 10 minutes or until lightly browned and sauce is bubbly.  Let stand 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

OH. MY. GOODNESS.  Stop everything you’re doing and make this right now.  I freaked out a bit at the amount of garlic, but somehow it is very subtle, not overwhelming at all.  The sweetness of the butternut squash, the bite from the Gruyere and the toasty flavor from the pecans; makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

Next week will be a series of special recipes/posts from a new book – Bread & Wine by Shauna Niequist.  Monday’s post will feature the Casear Salad pictured above.