Butternut Squash, Carmelized Onion, and Spinach Lasagna

This post should really be called "The Four Hour Lasagna" because that's how long it took me to make it!

As always, I looked through a few recipes online and then did my own thing but I made the mistake of following the directions on one particular recipe too closely instead of doing what made sense to me. I normally love Cooking Light and often peruse their recipes for inspiration but some of the directions here could be simplified or changed to save time.

Overall, I'm happy with the dish. It is the first meatless dinner that I've sent The Carnivore to work with and I was worried he'd feel hungry or less than satisfied with an entirely meat free meal. However, he really loves the butternut squash and wants me to cook more squashes in the future! SUCCESS!

Yum!

He also thinks that this shouldn't be called a lasagna. I agree. If you take the first bite of this expecting a lasagna taste, you'll be disappointed as it has a completely different flavor profile.

It smells like Thanksgiving and tastes sweet and savory at the same time.



Step 1: Peel, dice, season and roast the butternut squash. Also, roast the garlic with some olive oil.

Lesson Learned: Next time roast the squash first and then scrape it from the gourd. It ends up mashed anyways and it would save time and frustration. Butternut squash is a "B" to cut raw. Yes, I just cursed a squash.


 Step 2: Sauteed onions and then caramelize them. Wilt the spinach.

Lesson Learned:  Cooking is love. The Carnivore had to save the pan from burning as I stumbled in to the living room and ran in to a crate I was still unpacking because the onion fumes had waged an all out war on my eyes. I was blinded.

Recreation of The Carnivore saving the day!

 Step 3: Get ready to make the fontina cheese sauce. I made my own sauce here using what I learned making my own mac and cheese last week.

Adding flavor to the milk: bay leaves and thyme

Fontina!

Lesson Learned: Cheese takes way too long to grate. I gave up after about 3 seconds and did a rough chop on it. It still melted in the sauce just fine.

 Step 4: Make the sauce. Stir a lot. And then stir some more.

That's right, my sauce was thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Step 5: Make the lasagna. I used 9 no boil noddles. All the ingredients above. And I snuck in some feta to help balance the sweetness of the squash and onions.

sneaking in the feta

Step 6: Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool a bit before serving.

look at those layers!

*I think the time vortex struck again while I was making this dish. It should have taken two hours tops, not four. If I make it again I'll prep all my ingredients first. I wasted a lot of time cutting and mashing between steps.