Butternut Squash Lasagna w/ Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Bechemal!!

I'm a late bloomer in my love for butternut squash. I never wanted to cut up a big squash like that and bake it, I'd rather have a sweet potato! . But then a couple years ago I had the most amazing soup of butternut squash, and I was hooked!

I started to see it everywhere in magazines, and on cooking shows. I saw it in souffle's, gratin's, ravioli's, in grain's, pasta dishes. I saw it roasted, maple glazed, pureed, in tart's, and even in muffin's and cakes! Suddenly it seemed it was so in vogue!! How come I never noticed this awesome vegetable before? Whats wrong with me?

And guess what! It's one of those power foods, high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and beta carotene. I'm sure by now all of you have tried this versatile vegetable, but in case you haven't, go out and get some, please! You won't be disappointed.

Which brings me to this lasagna I made over the weekend. I have to admit Hubby wasn't all that excited when I told him I was making a butternut squash lasagna. He gave me a look like, "Huh." He's use to a lasagna I make with mini meatballs, ricotta, red sauce, you know the typical Italian thing. I just told him " trust me, you're gonna love it". I knew he would, and he did!

After searching on the Internet and picking bits and pieces of different recipes I came up with this. I liked the idea of garlic in the sauce, but I thought roasted garlic would make the flavor even more intense, and as it turned out I think it really made the whole dish!

I roasted the garlic a day ahead, as I knew I was going to make this. It also calls for no -boil lasagna, which I'm still of the old school boil kind, and I'm not convinced I like them yet. They are very convenient and fast though. Here I used the Barilla brand. What are your thoughts on no- boil ??

INGREDIENTS:

About 3lbs. of peeled, seeded, squash in 1/2 in. slices

2 Heads of Roasted Garlic

1 Box of No-Boil Lasagna

Parmesan Cheese around 1 1/2 cups

Bechemal Sauce

First, you need to roast your squash in a hot oven at 425 degrees. till tender. Make sure you drizzle it with olive oil, salt and pepper. It will probably take about 25 mins.

In the meantime make a pot of bechemel by melting 1/4 to 1/2 cup of butter and then mixing in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of flour, keep whisking, then squeeze in your roasted garlic, add salt and black pepper.

Pour about 5 cups of milk in and whisk till thick. When squash is cooked, stir it into the sauce along with the rosemary ( about 1 tbl.) and half of the Parmesan cheese.

IMPORTANT TIP HERE:I would have liked to had a little more sauce, the noodles soaked it up as it cooked, so you might want to make more. Next time I will.

Reduce oven temp to 375. Layer it like you would any lasagna. Spray your baking dish, layer the noodles, and spread the sauce mixture all over, and sprinkle with cheese. Continue layering till done. Sprinkle more cheese on top. Cover with foil. Bake around 35 to 40 mins. Uncover and cook till golden brown.

The roasted garlic sauce infused with rosemary, complimented the squash so well, it was heavenly!

Buon Appetito!!