What's For Dinner: Butternut Squash Lasagna Rolls

This year because D had limited vacation time, we opted to travel to Kalamazoo to spend a few days around the Christmas holiday with D's family. On the eve of Christmas Eve, I was chatting with D's uncle Dennis and cousin Evan about possible vegetarian entrees that we might have for Christmas dinner (in addition to a Christmas ham). While I thought I was just offering suggestions (Dennis is a fantastic chef), I instead found out the next morning that I had roped myself into cooking the meat-free entree. My suggestion was to make butternut squash lasagna rolls, which I had recently discovered in the Beekman 1802 Heirloom Cookbook (I talk about my Beekman Boy fandom near the end of this post). I hadn't made the dish before -- though I did intend to and actually had the ingredients at the ready at home in Wisconsin. But hey, what better time to try a new recipe than for a large family get-together? (Ha.)

In addition to getting a few last-minute gifts, D and I spent the afternoon of Christmas Eve purchasing a few necessary ingredients for my contribution to the Christmas dinner spread. To make things slightly easier (and since there would be a lot of cooking occurring on Christmas day), on Monday I roasted and mashed the squash, as that was the most time-consuming part of the lasagna-making process. Then on Christmas, I cooked the lasagna noodles, put together the dish, and baked it right before serving. I think it turned out rather well, and I definitely gave a sigh of relief that others seemed to enjoy it, too.

Following the holidays, I've made the lasagna rolls a second time, and though my intent was to capture better pictures of the final result, unfortunately I cooked up the second batch way past sunset, too. Special thanks to Dennis for taking a few action shots while I put together the lasagna on Christmas day (which you will see below). I would be such a better food blogger if I got my act together and cooked stuff up way earlier in the day, when natural light is aplenty. However, I'd much rather eat the things I cook right when they are fresh out of the oven (and when they're piping hot), rather than re-heat later in the day. It's hardest in the winter season, when the sun goes down so early. Summertime is definitely prime food blogging time! I'm so looking forward to the return of post-8p sunsets.

Butternut Squash Lasagna Rolls (printer-friendly version)
makes eight rolls

2 pounds butternut squash
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, browned
8 lasagna noodles
1⅓ cups grated Parmesan
1 large egg
¼ cup sliced almonds, finely chopped
¼ cup panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup organic heavy cream (you can also use half-and-half)

For the butternut squash:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or a silpat. Set aside.
Peel the butternut squash and cut in half. Remove the seeds with a spoon. Cut the squash into 1" cubes.
2. Place the squash cubes into a shallow bowl. Add in the browned butter and toss to combine.
3. Spread the squash cubes onto the prepped baking sheet.
4. Roast in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until tender, flipping the cubes once or twice while cooking.
5. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
6. Once cooled, purée the squash in a food processor. (Alternately, you could use a potato masher or blender for this step.) Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container overnight.

For the lasagna rolls:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a generous dash of salt, then add the lasagna noodles and cook per the manufacturer's instructions. Once cooked, drain, and rinse the noodles with cold water. Place the noodles on a work surface and lightly pat dry.
2. In a large bowl, add together 2 cups of puréed butternut squash, 2/3 cup Parmesan, egg, chopped almonds, bread crumbs, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, sage, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
3. Place a portion of the squash filling onto each lasagna noodle. (This helps to ensure that you don't run out of filling at the end.) Use the back of a spoon or a spatula to spread the filling across the noodle, covering it completely.

{evenly spreading the squash filling onto the lasagna noodles}

4. Carefully roll each noodle into a bundle and place the rolls in an 11x13 glass baking dish.

{lasagna rolls}

5. Pour the heavy cream over top the lasagna rolls.

6. Sprinkle each roll with the remaining (2/3 cup) Parmesan. Add a dash of freshly-ground black pepper over top each roll.

 {lasagna rolls covered with cream, Parmesan, and freshly-ground black pepper}

7. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, or until the cream is bubbling and the rolls are lightly browned.

(adapted from a recipe in the Beekman Boys Heirloom Cookbook)

 {bon appétit!}