Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Butternut Squash Lasagna

This is one of my favorite recipes. Even the fanatical of carnivores will eat this and feel satisfied at the end of the meal.
The recipe below is for the basic version. I'll often add ingredients to the squash mixture, such as sauteed greens, onions and/or mushrooms. Just make sure to use something soft so it doesn't upset the texture.

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Butternut Squash Lasagna recipe:
Butternut Squash, 1 large or 2 small to medium- cooked and mashed til
creamy (I slice in half, lightly cover with oil and bake for apx 1 hr, til
pierces with fork easily)

Béchamel Sauce:
Butter 2 tbsp
Onion, raw, 1 medium
Flour, whole grain, 2 tbsp
Milk 1.5 cup
Spices to taste (Nutmeg, etc)

Lasagna noodles (~12 pieces) for a 9x11x3 pan: cooked, rinsed and cooled
Mozzarella 12-16 oz shredded

For sauce:
Thinly slice onion. Set milk out so comes to room temperature. In a
saucepan, melt butter and sauté onions until they are slightly
caramelized. Add flour and mix well. Slowly add warm milk and stir or
whisk to prevent clumps, add nutmeg/spices. Continue to stir as sauce
thickens. Set aside.

Line the lasagna pan with 1/3 of the béchamel sauce.
Layer with noodles.
Spoon half of the squash over the noodles and top with 1/3 of the cheese.
Layer with noodles.
Top with 1/3 of the sauce.
Spoon over the remaining squash and 1/3 of cheese.
Layer with noodles.
Spread remaining sauce over noodles, top with remaining cheese.

Bake covered approximately 1 hour on 375 degrees. Uncover and bake another
15 minutes or until top is browned.


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Monday, January 25, 2010

Veggie Au Gratin

Here's a great way to use up a bunch of root vegetables. This can work with a number of varieties. I've used kohlrabi and turnips, but beets, rutabagas, or parsnips will also work well.

Clean or peel root vegetables, then thinly slice. Layer on bottom of 8"x8" pan.
Chop up one bunch of greens (I used tat soi, which is similar to spinach) and layer in pan.
Add another layer of vegetables.
Grate 1/3 pound of cheese (Pepper Jack works great, but any medium hard cheese will work nicely).
Sprinkle on goat cheese.

Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour.

You won't believe how good this tastes.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Iron Chef Enchiladas

I often find myself being a sort of iron chef with the secret ingredient "CSA Share". I try to rarely buy extra produce because I have plenty with what I get from my CSA.

Since we're still in the midst of winter, the shares have been consisting of mostly greens and root vegetables. I tend to chop up greens and add them to almost everything.

Here's a twist on cheese enchiladas. I took one bunch of greens and chopped it up and put inside the enchiladas along with some corn and chopped green chiles that had been frozen back when I had more than I knew what to do with. I topped it with homemade enchilada sauce and pepper jack cheese and backed at 375 for 45 minutes.

Enchiladas