From Lu’s lips to your screen: this is one of your top 5 best dishes. He also said this after plate #1, #2 and #3.
On Friday, two of my lifelong best girl friends came over to make vision boards. For those of you who aren’t familiar, a vision board is basically a collage of images, phrases and words placed on a piece of paper, cardboard, foam board or any type of canvas. This imagery is supposed to capture your vision – to represent you and your goals.
While we were vision boarding, I reheated this winterized lasagna for Lu’s dinner (he wasn’t partaking in vision-boarding, but still hanging out.)
I believe Lu. This is definitely one of my top 5 best dishes. It’s pretty incredible how much this tastes like lasagna. The Blade A-cut butternut squash creates a pasta-like consistency with the butternut squash. These butternut squash layers take the place of the lasagna noodles.
Earlier this year, I made a spiralized zucchini lasagna with spinach and tomato sauce – a classic. Now, I’m “winterizing” this lasagna by using a winter squash, a winter lettuce (kale) and of course, a heartier filling: sausage.
You can eat two or three servings of this and not need a nap, I promise. Of course, you don’t need to eat more than one serving – it’s filling in the most healthy way possible. The ricotta stuffing is fluffy and creamy, creating that quintessential lasagna texture.
The sweetness in the butternut squash noodles pairs immaculately with the sweet Italian sausage. The kale adds its superfood nutrients and a lovely green color. This is probably the most colorful lasagna out there!
This lasagna is something that reheats very well. It’s ideal for Sunday meal prep – make a batch of this and put it in the fridge to last all week. It can be frozen and reheated, as well. You can double the recipe, also, if you have a larger baking dish.
Plus, it’s easy to assemble:
Then, you just cover with foil, bake for 40-45 minutes and voila – you’ve got yourself a spiralized winterized lasagna!
Now, for my vision board. It’s still a work in progress, but you can tell what my vision is, right? It’s lacking some bridal pictures – I bought a Brides magazine on Sunday and I’m going to add a few clippings this week. What do you think?
Nutritional Information & Recipe
Winter Kale, Sausage and Butternut Squash Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1 medium butternut squash
- 1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 6 fresh sage leaves
- 4 sausage links decased
- 5 cups chopped kale
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 large shallot minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1.5 cups ricotta cheese
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese grated not shredded!
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 cup shredded gruyere cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Cut the bulbous bottom off the butternut squash (the seeded part.) Slice the top off to ensure that it’s perfectly flat. Peel the butternut squash entirely. If the butternut squash is longer than 6 inches, slice it into two manageable pieces. Slice halfway through the butternut squash, just to the center (careful not to go further.) Spiralize the squash, using Blade A.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat and add in the olive oil. Once oil heats, add in the sage leaves and cook until crispy, careful not to burn. Transfer the sage leaves to a small paper towel lined plate and set aside.
- Immediately crumble in the sausage to the skillet and cook until browned, 5-7 minutes. Then, add in the kale, garlic, red pepper flakes, shallots and season with salt and pepper. Cook the mixture for 2-3 minutes or until kale is wilted.
- While the sausage is cooking, add the ricotta, parmesan and egg to a bowl. Whisk together and set aside.
- Once the sausage is done, gather all of your prepared ingredients. Take out a casserole dish (I use 4.2 quart) and add a layer of the butternut squash to the bottom. Then, add a layer of the kale and sausage mixture. Then, add in a layer of ricotta mixture. Top with a layer of butternut squash. Then, add a layer of the kale and sausage mixture. Then, add in a layer of ricotta mixture. Top with a layer of the butternut squash and then, top with all of the gruyere cheese.
- Cover the casserole dish with tinfoil and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes. After 40 minutes, poke the top layer and if you can easily pierce through the butternut squash, it’s done. If you can’t, bake another 5 minutes.
- After the 40 minutes of baking, take the dish out of the oven, remove the tinfoil top and immediately sprinkle with sage topping. Then, let rest for 5 minutes. After resting, carefully cut the lasagna into 6 equal portions.
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