Butternut Squash Lasagna

Have you ever cooked a dish that took way longer than you expected? The first time this now-funnily-but-then-frustratingly happened to me was my junior year in college when boldly attempting a Jamie Oliver lamb dish that ended up taking five and a half hours. (I think it was similar to this one.) Yeah, we ate dinner at 11:30 that night. But it was worth it.

I'm definitely better at anticipating prep and cook times nowadays, but for some reason it took me over two and half hours to make this butternut squash lasagna. When I thought, Tops, maybe a little over one.

But, again, it was worth it. And maybe you can chop up butternut squash faster than me, and perhaps also without breaking a sweat? You win then. Maybe the moral of this story is that when recipes take way, way longer than you expect, they will always be amazing? Yep, mm-hmm, I'm sure that's it.

Ingredients

3.5 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces

3 tablespoons canola oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

4 cups milk

2 tablespoons dried rosemary

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1/2 stick unsalted butter

4 tablespoons flour

9 lasagna sheets (the no-boil kind is fine)

1 1/3 cups Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat butternut squash in oil and spread in one layer in a baking pan. Season with salt, and then roast for 10 minutes. Then stir and flip the squash before roasting for 10 more minutes, until tender. Remove from oven.

2. Bring milk to simmer with rosemary and heat for 10 minutes. Pour milk through sieve into a bowl to extract rosemary when done. Set aside.

3. Cook garlic and butter in a saucepan over low heat until softened. Stir in flour and cook for 3 more minutes. Pour in milk and heat for 10 more minutes while whisking until thick. Then stir in butternut squash, and some salt and pepper to taste.

4. Pour 1 cup of the sauce into the bottom of your lasagna pan. Cover with 3 lasagna sheets. Spread half of remaining butternut squash sauce over sheets and top with 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Repeat with one more layer of sheets, sauce, cheese, and end with a final layer of lasagna sheets.

5. Beat heavy cream and salt in a mixer until soft peaks form. Completely spread cream mix over final layer of lasagna sheets and top it all with the remaining 1/3 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano.

6. Reduce heat of oven to 375 degrees. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes, until golden on top. Let stand a few minutes before serving.

(Adapted from Gourmet)