Northern Italian Pumpkin Lasagna

PG tested

Lasagna typically is made with tomatoes. But it doesn’t have to be so. In fall, when so many varieties of squash are readily available, it’s easy to layer the pasta dish with chunks of fresh pumpkin flavored with garlic and sweet Italian sausage. A creamy bechamel sauce stands in for meat or bolognese sauce. If you use no-boil noodles, the dish comes together pretty quickly. 

It’s comfort food at its best, and an easy way to sneak good-for-you veggies onto your dinner plate. Pumpkin can help the body fight off inflammation, is packed with fiber and is high in potassium.

For lasagna

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)

2 pounds fresh pumpkin, seeds and fibers removed, peeled and chopped (about 4 cups)

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper

½ pound bulk sweet Italian chicken sausage

1 large clove garlic, minced

For sauce

6 tablespoons butter

6 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

5 cups milk

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper 

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 cups grated part-skim mozzarella

1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

12 oven-ready (no boil) lasagna noodles

Heat butter and oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until wilted.

Stir in pumpkin and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with oregano, salt and a few grinds of pepper. Add sausage and cook until it loses its color, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Set aside.

To make sauce, melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour. Cook for 1 minute, until bubbly. Whisk in milk and cook, stirring, until mixture thickens and bubbles, about 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg and set aside.

Combine two cheeses in medium bowl. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

To assemble lasagna, butter or spray a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Ladle ¾ cup of sauce on bottom of pan and top with 3 noodles, placed crosswise. Pour another ¾ cup of sauce over noodles, then ⅓ of the pumpkin filling. Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese mixture over filling. Repeat the layers of sauce, noodles, filling and cheese twice more. Top with remaining noodles, pour over remaining sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. The lasagna should look soupy.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, uncover and continue baking for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned and bubbly. Let lasagna sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Serves 8.

— “The Pumpkin Cookbook: 138 Recipes Celebrating the Versatility of Pumpkin and Other Winter Squash” by Deedee Stovel (Storey, 2017, $17)

Gretchen McKay: gmckay@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1419 or on Twitter @gtmckay.

First Published: October 11, 2018, 12:00 p.m.