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Butternut Squash Lasagna from Mantova (Lasagne alla Zucca)

Butternut Squash Lasagna

This is the Mantovan original, not the American sage-and-mozzarella version. Roasted squash is cooked down to a dense puree, then spiked with crushed amaretti and chopped mostarda, the same filling that goes into tortelli di zucca. Layered with nutmeg bechamel and Parmigiano, it bakes into something sweet, savoury, and genuinely unlike any other lasagna.
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Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes
Servings: 8 People
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Calories: 520
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 lb butternut squash about 2 medium, halved and seeded
  • 2 tbsp butter for roasting and drying the squash
  • 3 oz amaretti biscuits crisp Italian style, about 16 cookies, crushed
  • 4 tbsp apple or pear mostarda fruit finely chopped, plus 1 tbsp of its syrup
  • 6 tbsp butter for the bechamel
  • 0.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 cups whole milk warmed
  • 0.5 tsp freshly grated nutmeg divided
  • 12 sheets egg lasagne sheets fresh or dried, about 9 oz
  • 2.5 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, or Grana Padano
  • 8 leaves fresh sage
  • 2 tsp salt divided, to taste

Equipment

  • 1 9x13 inch baking dish
  • 1 rimmed sheet pan
  • 1 heavy saucepan for the bechamel
  • 1 Large Skillet for drying the squash puree
  • 1 food processor or potato masher

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 400 F. Rub the cut faces of the squash halves with 1 tbsp of the butter and season with 1 tsp salt. Lay them cut side down on a rimmed sheet pan and roast 45 to 55 minutes, until a knife slides through the thickest part with no resistance and the edges have caramelized.
  2. Scoop the flesh away from the skins into a food processor and blend smooth, or mash hard by hand. Discard the skins.
  3. Melt the remaining 1 tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the squash puree and cook 10 to 15 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom, until it thickens and a spoon dragged through the center leaves a clear trail that holds for a second. This step decides whether your lasagna is creamy or watery. Do not rush it.
  4. Pull the pan off the heat. Stir in the crushed amaretti, the chopped mostarda and its syrup, half the nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp salt. Taste. It should read sweet first, then savoury, with a faint mustard heat at the back. Set aside to cool.
  5. Make the bechamel. Melt 6 tbsp butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, whisk in the flour, and cook 2 minutes until it smells faintly of toast but takes no color. Pour in the warm milk in a slow stream, whisking constantly.
  6. Cook the sauce 6 to 8 minutes, whisking, until it coats the back of a spoon. Whisk in the remaining nutmeg and 1/2 tsp salt. Drop in the sage leaves, cover, and let them steep 10 minutes off the heat, then fish them out.
  7. If using dried lasagne sheets, boil them 2 minutes short of the package time in well-salted water, then spread them flat on a towel. Fresh sheets go in as they are.
  8. Lower the oven to 350 F. Spread a thin layer of bechamel across the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Lay down a sheet layer of pasta.
  9. Spread a third of the squash filling over the pasta, spoon over a quarter of the remaining bechamel, and scatter 1/2 cup Parmigiano. Repeat twice more, keeping the layers thin and even.
  10. Finish with a final layer of pasta, the last of the bechamel spread edge to edge, and the remaining 1 cup Parmigiano over the top.
  11. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is golden and lightly crusted and the sauce bubbles at the corners. If the surface is still pale, run it under the broiler for 90 seconds.
  12. Rest the lasagna 20 minutes before cutting. It needs that time to set, and the sweet-savoury flavour comes through more clearly just below piping hot.

Notes

  • Mostarda di mele or di pere is sold in Italian delis and online. If you truly cannot find it, use 3 tbsp finely diced quince paste plus 1 tsp Dijon mustard, but the mustard-fruit bite is what makes this dish what it is.
  • The squash puree must be dry. If it looks loose in the pan, keep stirring over heat until a spoon dragged through leaves a clean trail. Watery puree ruins the layers.
  • Taste the filling before assembling. It should sit right on the edge of sweet and savoury. Add a pinch more salt or another crumbled amaretto to steer it.
  • Assemble a day ahead and refrigerate, then add 10 minutes to the bake. Leftovers reheat well, covered, at 325 F.
  • Serve on its own with nothing alongside. In Mantova this is a first course, and a small square is the correct portion.