Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagna

Preheat oven to 400 F.

For squash and garlic: Lay cubed squash on a rimmed baking sheet, and drizzle with a bit of olive oil (only about 1-2 teaspoons). Use your hands to coat the squash with olive oil, then sprinkle with ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Wrap the 6 cloves of garlic in tin foil and before you seal up the foil drizzle the garlic with ½ teaspoon olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the closed foil packet on the baking sheet with squash. Roast for 50 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes or so. Remove from oven and sprinkle the squash with the chopped sage. Transfer the squash to a bowl and either mash it with a fork or whip it with a mixer.

Take the roasted garlic and squeeze the garlic out of its skin into a small bowl. Mash garlic with a fork and combine with the 5 tablespoons of butter. Mix the roasted garlic butter with the squash, making sure the filling is spreadable.

Béchamel: Melt the 4 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Then add the flour, and whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture turns golden brown, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the milk to the butter mixture, 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until the sauce is very smooth. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 seconds longer. Remove from the heat and season with salt and nutmeg. Stir in the mascarpone, ½ cup of mozzarella and ½ cup of Parmesan, whisking until all the cheese is melted and smooth.

Assembly: Preheat the oven to 375 F. Brush a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with melted butter or oil, and layer in the following order from the bottom: about 1/3 of the béchamel, cover with a few sheets of cooked pasta, 1/3 of the squash filling, 6 pepperoni slices and sprinkle with a third of the remaining cheese. Repeat these layers 1 or 2 more times. I like the very top layer to be just the béchamel, cheese, and pepperoni slices. Then if desired top with 6-8 whole sage leaves. They with get brown and crispy in the oven.

Cover with a sheet of foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake another 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the casserole is bubbling. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 20 minutes, slice, and serve.