Butternut Squash Lasagna with Sausage and Taleggio

Ingredients

• 1 medium Butternut squash (1kg/2lbs untrimmed 700g/1.5lbs trimmed)
• 2 garlic cloves (whole and peeled)
• 4 sage leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1.5 lbs (700g) Italian sausages (skins removed)
• 7 oz (200g) Taleggio cheese (rind removed)
• ⅓ cup 80ml water
• 80 g (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 80 g flour ((1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon))
• 4 cups (1 litre) whole milk
• 1 pinch fresh grated nutmeg
• 1 cup (70g) finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano (plus extra for grating)
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• 300 g Italian 00 flour ((2 cups plus 2 tablespoons))
• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk ((175g eggs total))
• Or use 450g/1 lb of fresh lasagna sheets

Steps

1. 1

   Tip your flour on a clean work surface and make a wide well in the middle. Add your eggs to the well and whisk them with a fork to break them up.

2. 2

   While whisking, gradually bring the flour in from the sides until a thick paste forms. Use your hands to knead the rest into a dough.

3. 3

   Once a firm dough forms, knead it with your hands for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover with plastic wrap (cling film) and set aside.

4. 4

   For a step by step tutorial on making pasta see our homemade pasta dough recipe.

5. 5

   Trim the butternut squash and chop it into small-medium sized cubes, set aside. Finely chop the fresh rosemary and sage and peel the garlic.

6. 6

   Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan. Add the 2 whole, peeled garlic cloves and saute them for a few seconds until fragrant and starting to turn lightly golden.

7. 7

   Add the cubed butternut squash, chopped herbs and a good pinch of salt. Saute for 5 minutes then add ⅓ cup of water (80ml) then cover with a lid. Turn the heat down low and cook for 20 minutes until fork tender (give it a stir half way through cook to make sure it doesn’t stick). Once cooked, turn off the heat and set aside.

8. 8

   Meanwhile, heat another pan on a medium heat. Brown the sausage meat, breaking it up with the side of a wooden spoon into small-medium sized crumbs. Once cooked, turn the heat off and set aside.

9. 9

   Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Once melted, add the flour and whisk to form a thick paste. Let it cook while whisking for 1-2 minutes.

10. 10

    Add half of the milk and whisk until there are no lumps. Keeping it on a medium heat, stir the bechamel until thickened then gradually add the rest of the milk.

11. 11

    Add a good pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg and whisk every now and then until thickened. Turn the heat up if needed but make sure it doesn’t catch on the bottom.

12. 12

    Once thickened stir in the Parmigiano Reggiano then turn off the heat and set aside.

13. 13

    Add the butternut squash and garlic to a food processor and blitz into a puree. Add a few spoons of bechamel and blitz again until super smooth.

14. 14

    Transfer the squash puree to the bechamel and whisk until combined.

15. 15

    Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it well.

16. 16

    Divide the pasta into quarters and roll each section out into lasagne sheets using your pasta machine (I go to number 7 on my Marcato Atlas machine).

17. 17

    Cut the pasta to fit your baking dish then blanch them in batches for 2-3 for 30 seconds. Transfer them to a clean kitchen towel to drain for a few seconds.

18. 18

    Repeat this for each quarter of pasta (I start assembling the lasagna one quarter of pasta at a time to save room).

19. 19

    Spread some butternut squash sauce on the bottom of your baking dish. Top with a layer of pasta then spread more sauce over the top. Sprinkle with some sausage, dot over Taleggio cheese then a small grating of Parmigiano Reggiano.

20. 20

    Repeat with the layers until everything is used up. You should get 5 layers in total. The final layer has everything on top (sauce, sausage, taleggio and parmigiano).

21. 21

    Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F. Bake the lasagna uncovered for 40-45 minutes, remove and let it rest for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.