Butternut squash lasagna with greens and mushrooms

Photo: Alexandra's Kitchen

The squash is simmered with sage and blended into the sauce, so there's no béchamel and no boiling noodles. Layers of oyster mushrooms, chard, Parmesan and mozzarella. Build it the day before.

From Alexandra Stafford at Alexandra's Kitchen · @alexandracooks

A squash sauce instead of béchamel keeps it light and lets the mushrooms and greens taste like themselves.

You need

• For the sauce: ¼ cup olive oil, 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage, 1 onion, diced, 1.25 lb peeled butternut squash pieces (about 4 cups), 2 cups water, 1 tsp kosher salt, black pepper
• For the lasagna: ¼ cup olive oil, divided
• 1 lb oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1 lb Swiss chard, leaves stripped from the stems (8 to 9 oz leaves), roughly chopped
• Kosher salt
• 12 sheets no-boil lasagna noodles
• 4 oz Parmigiano Reggiano, grated (about 1 cup)
• 8 oz low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella, pulled into small pieces

How to make it

1. Make the sauce: heat ¼ cup oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the sage and stir for 15 seconds, until fragrant. Add the squash, onion, 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon salt and some pepper. If the squash isn't covered, add water until it just is. Simmer, uncovered, stirring now and then, for 15 to 20 minutes, until the squash is very soft and the water has reduced a lot.
2. Blend it smooth in a food processor or blender (or with a stick blender in the pot). Taste and add salt if needed. You should have about 1 quart.
3. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over high heat. When it shimmers, add the mushrooms and leave them alone for 2 minutes, then salt and stir and cook 2 minutes more, until browned at the edges. Tip into a bowl.
4. Put the skillet back over high heat with the last 2 tablespoons oil. Add the chard leaves, leave them for 1 minute, season with salt, then turn them with tongs for 1 to 2 minutes more until collapsed. Tip into a bowl.
5. Assemble in a 9x13-inch baking dish: spread ½ cup sauce on the bottom, then 3 noodles. Spread a scant ½ cup sauce over the noodles, then a third of the mushrooms and a third of the chard, ¼ cup Parmesan and ¼ cup mozzarella. Repeat twice, ending with greens, cheese and a scant ½ cup sauce.
6. For the top layer, pour just-boiled water into a shallow dish and soak the last 3 noodles for 2 to 3 minutes, moving them so they don't stick (the top layer gets less sauce, so this softens it). Lay them on top and spread over the remaining sauce (about ½ cup) and the rest of the cheese.
7. Cover with foil. Refrigerate for up to 24 hours, or bake right away for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 to 20 minutes more, until bubbling and golden. Rest 10 minutes before cutting.

Written in our own words from Alexandra Stafford's recipe, with their quantities. The original: Butternut squash lasagna with greens and mushrooms, Alexandra's Kitchen.

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