Lasagnas, regardless of type, are usually assembly jobs of pre-cooked ingredients, then baked. Such is the case with this butternut and potato version. If you can roast or sauté slices of butternut squash and boil a potato, you can have these exquisite little lasagnas on your table in no time.
This recipe could be made as a traditional size lasagna in a large baking dish if you quadruple the ingredients, but here I present it in a more elegant way, just for two, using individual baking dishes. This may be eaten directly from the dish, or carefully lifted out from the dish and served on a plate.
Note: My individual baking dishes are 5-inches x 2-inches (12.5 cm x 5 cm). Yours may vary. Given that, you may need slightly more or less of each of the ingredients listed in the recipe.
Arliano Update (Aggiornamento Arliano):
It’s been an incredibly busy time of late with driving lessons (yes, still on-going, but there is an end in sight…), language lessons (probably for as long as I live in Italy), a nephew visiting, including some travel with him and his girlfriend. In addition, our ceramic induction stovetop recently cracked – long story – and we’ve been dealing with various vendors who are pointing fingers and shifting blame. We also thought that one of our vacationing apartment renters broke our dishwasher, but it turns out that it was an adjacent cabinet mounting issue. Whew! This means more vendors to work with while using Italian as the common language between us all, since many vendors also have Italian as a second language. It’s almost fun at times, but the tipping point is usually on the side of stress.
We’ve hit a few road bumps with permits to renovate our rental house and for a pool. The city is backed up for at least 4 months to review permit requests. In the meantime, a parade of contractors (electricians, plumbers, general building contractors) has been coming through to provide us eye-opening estimates. Tom and I even questioned if we should demolish the little rental house and put in a prefabricated one, instead. However, the costs and permits for that could take well over a year. The stereotype about Italian bureaucracy is true.
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Exquisite Individual Lasagnas with Butternut Squash and Potato
Ingredients
- 4 large rectangular sheets of fresh lasagna pasta (Or, 6 long, thinner dried lasagna noodles)
- 1.5 cups cooked butternut squash (about 300 grams), sliced or cubed
- 1 large potato, waxy, not starchy type
- 1 cup (about 225 grams) dry mozzarella or sweet provolone cheese, grated. Use more or less per your preference
- 1 cup Parmesan (about 120 grams) finely grated, PLUS extra for the top of each lasagna. Use more or less per your preference
- 1 cup bechamel sauce (1 cup whole milk, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon fresh or dry thyme, a dash of nutmeg and salt)
- Olive oil to brush your baking dishes
- 2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt for the pasta water
Directions
- Prepare the bechamel sauce by melting the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add the flour, thyme, nutmeg and salt, and stir for one minute. Slowly add the milk to the pan while whisking continuously. Continue whisking and cooking until the sauce thickens to a loose pudding consistency. Remove from heat and set aside. Once it’s cool enough, add plastic wrap over the top of the sauce so a film doesn’t form
- While you are preparing the butternut squash and potato (see steps 3 and 4, below), bring a large pot of water to boil with the salt. Boil the lasagna noodles until they are completely cooked (see package directions. For fresh noodles it usually takes 3 minutes. For dry noodles, anywhere from 10 – 14 minutes). Drain, separate the noodles, and lay them on a clean dish towel and pat dry
- Roast or sauté the butternut squash until a knife can easily pierce through. Remove and discard the skin. (In an oven at 400F/200C, my squash is usually done in 30 minutes. If sautéed on a stove top over medium heat, mine is usually done in 20 minutes)
- Scrub clean and boil the potato with the skin on for 30 minutes over medium-high heat or until a knife can easily pierce through it with no resistance. Start checking for doneness at the 20-minute mark. Remove from the water and let the potato cool. Remove the skin, and slice in 1/4-inch (.5 cm) medallions
- Slice the lasagna noodles (pasta sheets) into approximately 4-inch (10 cm) vertical strips. Brush your individual baking dishes with olive oil
- Pre-heat the oven to 375F (190C)
- Assembly time: Lay the first noodle in your baking dish, including up and over the sides so that you have an overhang. Repeat, but in the opposite direction so that you now have a crisscross. Place a big spoon of bechamel at the bottom of the noodles. Place enough butternut squash on top of the bechamel to cover the bottom of your dish. Sprinkle with about half of both cheeses. Cut a piece of pasta to cover the top of the butternut and cheese layer (no overhang is needed here). Spoon and spread bechamel over the pasta covering the butternut. Add potato slices, enough to cover the new layer and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Add another cut-to-fit pasta piece over the top of the potato layer. Fold and close the overhanging pasta on the top of the lasagna, making a nice packet. Carefully brush another spoon of bechamel on the top of the lasagna and sprinkle each with the extra Parmesan
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until the top of the lasagna has browned to your liking. Once done, remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve either in the baking dish (warn your dinner partner that the dish is oven-hot!), or gently remove the lasagna to a plate
Greg Nelson Cooks 
I cannot wait to try this Greg. I love lasagna but am pescatarian so always looking for other ways to make it. This looks delicious. Good luck on all the home projects and have fun with Adam and his girlfriends visit! Maureen keeps me updated on our bike rides. I really hope to be pay a visit to your AirBnB when you start taking guests….
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