Smashing Pumpkin Lasagne – one of our best lasagne recipes

Who doesn’t love lasagne – and who doesn’t love lasagne in this weather! Warm up those spooky halloween nights with this pumpkin theme friendly dish.

This delicious lasagne is adapted (only slightly) from Lorraine Pascale’s great cookbook: “Fast Fresh and Easy Food”.

For this recipe, your lasagne dish should only be a square 25.5cm baking dish at about 6cm deep – contains about 2.5 litres.



Let’s start by getting our ingredients together

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The lasagne ingredients:

◊ 50g parmesan cheese mixed with 50g dried breadcrumbs

◊ 600g pumpkin (or butternut squash if you aren’t using the flesh of your carved pumpkin)

◊ 75g baby spinach leaves

◊ 12 lasagne sheets

◊ 4 sprigs of rosemary and 12 sage leaves (use dried if that is all available – but having fresh really makes the difference) – all roughly chopped & mixed

◊ Olive oil

The sauce ingredients:

◊ 100g parmesan cheese finely grated

◊ 2cm piece of ginger – zested

◊ 600g ricotta cheese

◊ 2 medium egg yolks

◊ nutmeg (this does not need to be fresh – and if you buy it especially for this dish – it will come in very handy in Dec!)

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 220C (fan 200C), 425F, Gas Mark 7 and initially boil then simmer the pumpkin until it is tender for mashing (20 mins or so).

Halloween Ideas: Pumpkin photo

 

 

 

 

 

Step 2: Put your lasagne sheets (even if they are pre-cooked) in some boiling water with some oil so they don’t stick. Please use a big pan for this – it is really important that your lasagne sheets don’t stick!

Halloween Ideas: Lasagne pre-cook photo

 

 

 

 

 

Step 3: Make the sauce by combing and mixing the finely grated parmesan & ginger with the ricotta, egg yolks and nutmeg. Add some salt & pepper to season. Leave aside.

Halloween Ideas: white sauce mix

 

 

 

 

 

Step 4: Mash the pumpkin & season with some S&P. Prepare the layers by spreading a 1/3 of the mash in the base of the dish, followed by a third of the herbs, and a 1/3 of the spinach leaves. Arrange 4 lasagne sheets on top of this, topped with a 1/3 of the ricotta sauce mix. Repeat this twice more so that you have 3 layers and the top with the parmesan and breadcrumb mix.

Halloween Ideas: layering lasagne picture

 

 

 

 

 

Step 5: Bake for 15 – 20 minutes et voila!

Halloween Ideas: cooked lasagne picture

 

 

 

 

 

Step 6: plate up in serving sizes and wait for all the ooohs and ahhhs (of appreciation!)

Pumpkin Lasagne Halloween Idea Photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

Buy your copy of Lorraine’s great cookbook here!