Pumpkin Lasagna

That’s right; pumpkin isn’t just for pies anymore. I know, pumpkin lasagna might sound weird, but believe me, I didn’t make this up. I was actually inspired to try this when I saw Rachel Ray make pumpkin lasagna on her Week in a Day show. As you know, I like to tweak recipes and make them my own; so I didn’t even open her recipe, but used what I remembered from the episode and made my own, delicious dish.

What You’ll Need…

1 Package Lasagna Noodles

1lb Ground Meat (Any kind you like.)

5oz Fresh Spinach

1 15oz Can Pumpkin Puree

4oz Goat Cheese

1 ½ Cups Frozen Corn (Optional)

2 Cups Milk

3 Tablespoons Butter

4 Tablespoons Flour

Salt

Pepper

Pinch Nutmeg

Oregano (To taste)

Parsley (To taste)

Herbes de Provence (To taste)

Pre-heat your oven to 375.

If you are using dry, boxed noodles start out by bringing a pot of water to a boil.

While you water for the water to boil move onto your meat. Brown the meat and then set it aside. At this point the water should be boiling, so add your pasta and allow it to cook until al dente.

Once the pasta has cooked, drain it and set it aside. Place the corn in a small pot with ½ cup of water and allow it to cook.

While the corn is cooking we move onto the béchamel sauce. Start out by putting 2 cups of milk into a pot and allowing it to heat up, slowly. Now, melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large pot. Once the butter is melted add the flour and whisk them together for about a minute so that the flour taste cooks out. At this point remove the larger pot from the heat and add the milk. From the point that you add them milk whisk the sauce until it thickens up. You will know that the sauce is done you draw a line in it on the back of a wooden spoon and the line stays. Turn off the heat and add a pinch of salt, pepper, and nutmeg to the sauce and stir thoroughly. At this point the corn should be done.

Mix the corn with the meat, oregano, Herbes de Provence, and parsley.

The last step before layering the lasagna is to mix the can of pumpkin puree with one egg and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Now we begin to layer. Start out by greasing a 9 x 13 pan. Place a thin layer of the sauce as the first layer. The second layer should be pasta, the third sauce, the fourth the meat and corn, the fifth pumpkin and the sixth goat cheese. After the cheese start the process over again, but start with pasta instead of sauce.

After the second layer or cheese place the last layer of pasta and top with the remaining béchamel sauce.

 

Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

After removing the lasagna from the oven allow it to rest for about 5 minutes. This is so that everything can tighten up, and so you don’t burn your mouth.

Top with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil and enjoy!