Pumpkin Lasagna with Burnt Butter & Sage

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Slice pumpkin into large wedges and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper.
3. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, then bake for 30-45 minutes, until golden and tender.
4. Cook butter and sage over medium heat for a few minutes, until the butter is foamy and milk solids have browned.
5. Transfer to a large bowl, and stir through ricotta, créme fraîche, 150g Parmesan and baby spinach. Season to taste and set aside.
6. In your burnt butter pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté shallots, garlic and thyme until softened.
7. In a large bowl, mash the cooked pumpkin flesh (scoop out of it’s skin) until smooth, but still with a little texture remaining, then stir through ¼ cup of water, shallot mix and apple cider vinegar and season to taste.
8. Rub oil on the base of a large oven dish (approx 25x40cm).
9. Assemble your lasagne in the following order of layers: pasta sheets, pumpkin mix, ricotta mix. Repeat until all the sauce and filling has been used. I did 5 layers of pasta, meaning ¼ of the pumpkin and ricotta mix used on each layer. Make sure the pasta sheets are fully submerged in sauce or they won’t cook properly.
10. Top the final layer of pasta sheets with sliced mozzarella followed by remaining 50g Parmesan.
11. Cover with foil and bake at 180°C for 50 minutes, until pasta is cooked through and lasagne is bubbling at the sides. If the baking dish is quite full and you think it might bubble over, put a foil lined tray underneath it in the oven to catch any drippings.
12. To finish, remove the foil and change the oven to the grill setting on high heat.
13. Grill for 5-10 minutes, until the top is your perfect level of golden brown. Make sure you don’t walk away from the grill (or if you do set timers for 30 seconds-1 minute) as it can burn quickly.
14. Remove from oven and let it settle for at least 10 mins (20 minutes is ideal), then serve!