After a tour of a super fancy straw bale house, a group of us met back at Community Greenhouse Partners for a potluck.  

I brought a first try at a dish — a butternut squash lasagna which was described as: “Ridonculous” and “Mmmm” and “Yes, I would like more”.  It’s definitely one that I will be making again.  It’s also a good dish for highlighting locally produced foods (vegetables, cheese, milk, butter, flour)! The only ingredient I’m not sure how to get locally is nutmeg — any ideas?

The ingredients include:

• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 (1.5 – 2 lb.) butternut quash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
• salt and ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups whole milk
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated

To make the lasagna:

1. Add butter to a large skillet and melt over medium heat.  Toss in the cubed squash and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Add the 1/2 cup of water to the skillet and simmer with a lid on until squash is tender, about 20 minutes
2. Place the tender squash in a mixing bowl or food processor and mash.  Season the mash with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Add the second serving of butter to a medium saucepan and melt over medium heat.  Add flour and whisk for 1 minute before gradually whisking in the milk.
4. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat.  After, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce gets thicker.  Whisk often.  This should take about 5 minutes.
5. Add the nutmeg and any additional salt and pepper.
6. Heat the oven to 375* and butter a 13 x 9 x 2 glass baking dish. It’s time to assemble!
7. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the baking dish.  Cover this with a layer of lasagna noodles.  Spread half of the mashed butternut over the noodles.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup of mozzarella over this.  Drizzle 1/2 cup sauce over the cheese.
8. Repeat the layering once more and finish with a layer of noodles covered only by the white sauce.
9. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes.  Take the dish out and sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese over the lasagna.  Bake once more for about 15 minutes.  You’ll want the sauce to be bubbling and the top to look golden.  Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

A delicious way to celebrate fall and natural building with friends!

(This might be posted on any of these blog hops, including Frugally Sustainable)