Butternut, Spinach & Ricotta Lasagna with Walnuts

Prep (20-30 minutes)

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Create the 3 different fillings to layer your lasagna.
1. Peel butternut squash and cut into 1” pieces. Place in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil with a pinch of salt. Boil for approximately 10 minutes until soft. Then drain the squash, put it in a bowl and mash it.
2. Divide ricotta cheese evenly into two medium-sized bowls. Set them aside.
3. Saute garlic and onion in olive oil over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add chopped fresh spinach and continue cooking until spinach is just wilted. Give it a pinch of kosher salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.
4. Pour bechamel or cheesy alfredo sauce into a bowl, add half of the chopped fresh sage, half of the parsley, and a pinch of ground black pepper. Set this aside.
5. Toast walnuts that have been drizzled in walnut oil (or olive oil) for 7-10 minutes in a 350F oven. Watch so they don’t burn, stirring/tossing halfway.

For the butternut squash layer:
Combine the mashed butternut squash, sour cream, 1 beaten egg, poultry seasoning, plain bread crumbs, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside.

For the spinach ricotta layer:
Combine one of the bowls of the ricotta cheese, with 1 beaten egg, ¼ cup shredded parmesan, ½ teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and the cooked and cooled spinach mixture. Stir to completely distribute the spinach throughout the cheese mixture. Set aside.

For the ricotta cheese layer:
Combine the remaining bowl of ricotta cheese, the remaining 1 beaten egg, ¼ cup shredded parmesan, a pinch of white pepper, remaining ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¾ cup of the chopped toasted walnuts. Set aside.

Assembly:
1. Pour ½ cup of the cheesy alfredo sauce mixture in the bottom of a 9×13 pan and top with 4 lasagna noodles, slightly overlapping each other.
2. Spread half the butternut squash mixture on top of noodles, lightly sprinkle with parmesan cheese, and top with 4 lasagna noodles, slightly overlapping each other.
3. Spread all of the spinach ricotta evenly over the noodles and top with 4 lasagna noodles, slightly overlapping each other.
4. Spread remaining butternut squash mixture on the noodles, slightly pressing down to evenly distribute. Top with all of the ricotta mixture, then place the remaining 4 lasagne noodles on top, slightly overlapping each other.
5. Final layer! Pour the rest of the cheesy alfredo sauce evenly over the top of the noodles, making sure you cover all the noodles with a good amount as these no-boil noodles need the liquid of the sauce to fully soften them and cook. Next, sprinkle the following in order: the mozzarella cheese, the remaining ¼ cup chopped walnuts, the remaining ¼ cup parmesan, and the remaining chopped sage and parsley. If you have some tiny fresh sage leaves, they can be lovely decorating the top.

Bake 60 minutes, then let rest a full 15 minutes before serving so the layers maintain their structure when cut and served.

Cook’s tips:
Trying to save time, I gave these no-boil noodles a try, and my preference would be to use traditional boiled noodles. I like the texture and flavor so much better. A homemade bechamel sauce would really give you more control of flavors, but this doctored jar of sauce worked just fine.