It’s fall! And that means . . .squash! Okay, maybe you don’t think of squash when you think of fall, but when accompanied by mushrooms, cheese, and pasta (among other ingredients), it makes for a delicious vegetarian lasagna. Here’s a wonderful recipe to use up some of your extra squash this fall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fall Vegetable Lasagna

Adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients (makes one large lasagna or two smaller ones)

10 oz. lasagna noodles

1 lb. sliced mozzarella cheese

Vegetable filling

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 onion

4 cloves garlic

1 red bell pepper

24 oz. white mushrooms

4 whole squash (yellow or zucchini)

1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes

1⁄2 cup vegetable stock

1⁄4 cup fresh parsley

1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt

black pepper

1⁄2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Cheese mixture

30 oz. ricotta cheese

2 eggs

1⁄2 cup grated parmesan

1⁄4 tsp. kosher salt

black pepper

Croutons

3 slices bread

1⁄4 cup melted unsalted butter

2 Tbsp. chives

salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and lay flat on a sheet of aluminum foil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chop all the vegetables. Squash should be roughly chopped, everything else should be diced. Mince the garlic and chop the parsley as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add the red peppers, squash, and mushrooms and sauté until soft; there should be liquid coming out. Pour in vegetable stock and add salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add the tomatoes one at a time, using your hands to squeeze/crush them. Add the juice as well. Stir in chopped parsley. Stir to combine and let simmer until cooked thoroughly.*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In another bowl, combine ricotta, eggs, parmesan, salt, and pepper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cut the bread into 1⁄4 inch cubes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toss with melted butter and chopped chives. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To assemble, spread a little of the vegetable filling in a lasagna pan. Layer the cooked noodles in the pan, slightly overlapping them if necessary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spread some of the ricotta mixture on the noodles. Top the ricotta mixture with mozzarella slices. Spoon some of the veggie mixture over the mozzarella. Don’t try to spread the vegetables–it’ll mess up the cheese below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continue layering until you fill your dish, ending with a large helping of vegetable sauce and lots of crouton cubes. They will crisp up in the oven. Also, don’t forget to grate some more parmesan on top. That’s very important.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bake covered in foil for 20 minutes, then remove foil and continue baking for 5 -10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes before cutting into squares and serving. Garnish with fresh parsley.

*You will have a lot of juice. Don’t worry, just don’t try to cut the lasagna right out of the oven.