Beat the Back to Work Blues: Bake Squash Lasagna

Rocky Mountain National Park

I spent a delightful Christmas in Colorado with Jeff's family, observing how their traditions differed from those of my own family:  they're big into stocking stuffers, they open presents earlier than my family, they don't get up on Christmas morning and immediately start brewing a massive pot of coffee and baking breakfast pastries, they don't have Christmas dinner/3PM meal on the beach...  Our families do share the key aspect of holiday overeating, though.

New tradition: stuffing stockings so full they need sweet potato counterbalances

Also, you know you're in Colorado when your rental house has posters of elk battles.

We had a lot of fun snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park, learning how to use our new ice axes with Jeff's more-skilled sister and brother-in-law, playing with remote-controlled helicopters, and stuffing ourselves silly with fresh cookies, toffee and fudge.  It made going back to work on Monday, December 28th to an eerily silent office where I was the out of office contact for my entire department nearly impossible.  

I managed to make it through the week by making a big batch--two 8x8 pans--of roasted squash lasagna to take for lunch as little pick-me-ups and by planning a backpacking trip with our good friend Matt for the New Year weekend.  I think either of these approaches alone would have sufficed, but together they made the work week fly by without sacrificing too much productivity.  I'll share more about our backpacking trip later, but for those of you more inclined to cook your way out of the doldrums, I've included my lasagna recipe below.

After this, who wants to go back to fluorescent lights and Outlook?

I highly suggest making this when you think that you're tired of squash but still have 5 more sitting on your counter.  It is absolutely delicious and will reignite your curcurbitaceous love.  While the lasagna recipe below is by no means a 30-minute meal, it comes together surprisingly easily and store-bought lasagna sheets can certainly be substituted.

Roasted Squash Lasagna

Salt more than you think prudent; baking mellows the flavors, and a little salt will perk them up right quick.  If you have a health concern that limits your sodium intake, zest half a lemon into your squash mix to take the flavor a slightly different direction.  Lemon, like salt, is a flavor augmenter. 

As far as ricotta goes, I've made some myself and it was incredible.  Making your own ricotta and your own squash filling and your own fresh pasta consumes more time than most of us are willing to give.  If you have access to fresh, local ricotta--go for it.  If not, Polly-O whole milk or part skim ricotta is a decent substitute.  Do not, I repeat, do not get fat-free ricotta. 

• 3 medium squash or 2 medium, 4 tiny
• 1 pound fresh egg pasta - I use this recipe, roll as thin as you can
• 12 oz ricotta
• 3 cups parmesan or pecorino, grated
• 2 T sage or thyme or both or your favorite herb for squash, roughly chopped
• salt and pepper to taste, and then a little bit more
• 1 c vegetable stock, optional

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Cover two cookie sheets with foil.  

Cut your squashes lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and reserve for toasty snacks later.  Place the squashes cut side down on the foil-covered sheets and roast for about an hour.  When you forget that there are squash in the oven and the whole apartment smells delicious, they should be just right: mushy-tender, slightly caramelized on the cut side, and the skin can be pierced with a fork.

Let them cool until you can scoop out the flesh without burning yourself.  Put the flesh into a medium bowl and roughly squish with a fork.  Salt and pepper generously.  If your mixture seems too thick to spread across lasagna noodles, thin with the optional vegetable stock.  Taste the mix.  It should be saltier than you would prefer to eat plain, but not inedible.

In a separate medium bowl, combine the ricotta, chopped herbs, 2 cups of the grated cheese, and more salt and pepper.

Prepare either two 8x8" baking dishes or one 9x13" pan with a generous butter rub-down, focusing especially on the corners.  Put a very thin layer of squash mix on the bottom of the pan.

Working in batches of two noodles, boil your pasta sheets in well salted water.  Fresh pasta par-cooks in about 2 minutes.  Check the package instructions if you are using dried noodles.  As each batch finishes cooking, remove gingerly and place into the prepared baking dish. 

Start the next batch of noodles.  Layer ricotta and squash on top of the pasta in the baking pan.  Continue this dance until the pan is full, then cover tightly with foil and bake 40 minutes.

After the first 40 minutes, check on your lasagna.  Remove the foil and dust with the remaining cup of grated cheese.  Return to the oven and let bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and bubbles are coming up the sides of the pan through the squash-cheese filling.

Let cool and firm up for five minutes before cutting and serving.