A simple vegetarian lasagne

Last night I made Roasted Squash, Sage and Walnut Pesto Galettes, and I purposely roasted extra squash to do something with for tonight’s dinner. Prepping ingredients for two recipes at one time is a time-saving thing I like to do. I also have some spinach on hand so searched for a roasted squash and spinach pasta dish. I found Jamie Oliver’s Squash & spinach pasta rotolo, which inspired this Squash and Spinach Lasagne dish.

Ingredients for Roasted Squash and Spinach Lasagne

100g goat cheese, crumbled
400g mozzarella cheese, grated
1 medium winter squash (delicata, butternut, acorn), cut in 1/4 slices and roasted until soft
1 bunch spinach, washed
300-500ml tomato sauce or make your own (see below)
1 lb (454g) lasagne noodles, cooked as per box (or fresh pasta!)
couple pinches nutmeg (optional)

How to make the lasagne

Pick one large and deep or 2 medium / shallow baking pans. Rub with a bit of oil if they tend to stick. Pour a small amount of your tomato sauce on the bottom of each pan to make a thin layer. Place a layer of noodles and then layer the toppings as you like, adding a layer of noodles every so often. Each section can be different if you like, or repeat ingredients in the same order. Nutmeg goes really nicely with squash and cheese so I recommend adding a pinch to a couple layers. If you’re not sure how you feel about nutmeg try it on one of your pans. Finish with cheese on top and some cracked pepper if you like.

Bake at 400 F for 20-30 minutes. If you like a crispy cheese (like pizza topping) leave in longer. Also if you opted for a large, deep dish then go for the longer cooking time. Just keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn’t burn!

Make your own tomato sauce (also a great pizza sauce recipe)

1-2 cups roasted cherry tomatoes
6 cloves – whole head roasted garlic
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons of olive oil, plus drizzle of oil for roasting tomatoes and garlic
splash of balsamic vinegar (approx 1/2-1 tsp)
1 tsp oregano
pinch of herbs de province

Roast your tomatoes and garlic then combine everything in a magic bullet, blender, or hand-held blender. Taste and adjust seasoning as you like. I usually add fresh basil if I have it in which case I would reduce or eliminate the dried herbs. If you have certain herbs you really like go with those. This is a flexible recipe so play around with it and make it your own.