Pumpkin and Spinach Lasagna

Another Pumpkin recipe I haven't tried yet: Pumpkin Lasagna. It's a well known dish, but I always was apprehensive to try it because to my pumpkin is a sweet food, not a savory food.

But with such a popular recipe I knew if I took a crack at it, my taste buds wouldn't be taking such a big risk into the new realm of pumpkin use.

I looked at a few recipes from a lot of blogs and websites, foodies and celebrities all have their own versions of this dish. So I went with something simple, used the ingredients I had on hand already, and was as close to classic lasagna as possible, while still staying veggie.

So here is what I came up with. If this recipe is close to YOUR recipe, I apologize, but there were far to many recipes to research to confirm that mine was an original.

In the end I was quite surprised at the flavor combination. I loved the creaminess of the cheese, the pumpkin and spinach together were amazing, and the noodles brought it all together into a happy marriage of flavors.

Pumpkin and Spinach Lasagna

Sauce

5 Tbl butter
1 yellow onion, minced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c flour
3 1/2 c milk
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
pinch turmeric
salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan, and sautee onions and garlic until soft. Stir in flour and mix well. The mix will be a bit sticky, but try not to brown the flour or it will leave a burned taste to the sauce.

2. Whisk milk in slowly and bring to a boil, stir in spices. Reduce heat to low and stir slightly until sauce thickens.

Lasagna

1 c Mozzarella cheese, shredded
15 oz container ricotta cheese
3 c pure pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 9oz box No Boil lasagna noodles (or regular lasagna noodles)
1 bunch fresh spinach, chopped
4 oz Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, pumpkin and egg. Salt and pepper again if desired. Pumpkin is bland if left alone.

2. Spray a 13x9 inch baking pan with release spray. Pour a cup of sauce and spread on the bottom of the pan. Layer 4 sheets of noodles.

3. Spread ricotta mix carefully over noodles, followed by 1/4 of the spinach, 1/4 mozzarella cheese and 1/4 Parmesan cheese. Continue to layer noodles, ricotta mix, spinach, and cheese until you have 4-5 layers.

4. Top with remaining sauce, spinach and cheeses. Cover with parchment paper and aluminum foil. Bake 40 mins, then remove foil and parchment and continue to bake until cheeses are melted and slightly brown.

5. Cool about 15mins before serving to allow lasagna to set up. Serve with a fresh side salad.

Beautiful bites

lasagna with pepper on top made it even better

Calories calculated using Sparkrecipes calculator. 329 calories per serving