Noodleless Butternut Squash Lasagna

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 375F.

Step 2

Heat the butter in a large skillet. Add the onions and garlic. Sauté over medium-high heat until soft, 3-5 min.

Step 3

Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms have darkened in color, 3-5 min.

Step 4

Add the chopped, fresh spinach and sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes, until the spinach has wilted.

Step 5

Add the tomatoes (with their juices), tomato paste, water, bay, sage, rosemary, salt, and cinnamon. Simmer for 5 minutes, then remove the sauce from the heat and set aside. Remove the bay leaves before you use the sauce in your lasagna.

Step 6

In a small bowl, mix together ricotta, egg, salt, and nutmeg. Set aside.

Step 7

Prep your butternut squash ‘noodles’. Slice off the two ends of the squash and peel it with a sharp vegetable peeler. Once peeled, chop off the bottom bulb (containing the seeds). Place the neck of the squash upright on your cutting board and slice it into ¼ inch thick strips. (This can also be done using a mandolin slicer.) Set the strips aside.

Step 8

Grease an 8x8 baking dish and spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture into the bottom of the dish. Top with ½ of the butternut squash, and ½ of the ricotta cheese mixture. Continue layering with 1/3 of the sauce, the remaining squash, and the remaining ricotta cheese mixture. Finish it off with the last 1/3 of the sauce.

Step 9

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Step 10

After 30 minutes, the outside should be bubbly and the squash should be starting to soften. (You can check for this by inserting a knife through the center of the dish.) Remove the aluminum foil and continue baking the dish for 20 minutes.

Step 11

Remove the lasagna from the oven and top it with fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Return it to the oven (uncovered) for an additional 5 minutes, to melt the cheese.

Step 12

Remove the lasagna from the oven and let it stand (uncovered) for 10-15 minutes before serving.