Most of my Halloween posts are baked goods, so I suppose I ought to balance it out with one savoury dish featuring the good old pumpkin. In fact, my brother and I never had pumpkins when we were young. Instead we were given turnips. I don’t know if it was due to availability or cost, but it gave me a lasting association between pumpkins and prestige. The first time I actually bought a pumpkin for cooking purposes, I felt like I were splurging on a luxury item. This is a suitably luxurious use of the prestigious vegetable, with the abundance of goat’s cheese, the sweetness of the pumpkin, and the vivid colour combinations.
This pumpkin lasagne is a mish-mash of a few different recipes, and I was very happy with how it turned out. Enjoy it all year round!
Pumpkin, Spinach & Goat’s Cheese Lasagne
Serves 4
Ingredients:
750g pumpkin/butternut squash, peeled and chopped into small chunks
1.5 tbsp olive oil
350g spinach
small knob of butter
1 clove of garlic, crushed
pinch of nutmeg
350g passata
250ml water
1 tbsp sugar
175g soft goat’s cheese
250g ricotta
1 egg
lasagne sheets
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C. Toss the pumpkin chunks and olive oil in a roasting tin, and roast for 30-40 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large pan and add the spinach, stirring through for a few minutes until wilted. Add the garlic and nutmeg towards the end. Set aside and when it’s cool enough, squeeze out any excess liquid.
3. Make the tomato sauce by mixing together the passata, water, sugar and plenty of salt and pepper in a jug.
4. In a separate bowl, beat together the cheese, ricotta and egg until creamy.
5. When the pumpkin has cooked, start layering the dish. Pour in enough of the tomato sauce to just cover the base of a large ovenproof dish, and press a layer of lasagne on top.
6. Topple in half of the pumpkin chunks and dollop on a third of the cheesy mixture.
7. Press on another layer of lasagne, and pour on some more tomato sauce.
8. Spread all of the spinach on top of the lasagne, and add the remaining pumpkin on top.
9. Splodge on another third of the cheese.
10. Top with a final layer of lasagne and the remaining sauce and cheese.
11. Cook for about 30-40 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese has melted.
