Pumpkin & Goat's Cheese Lasagne
Serves 6
2 tablespoons olive oil
25g/1oz butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1.6kg/3.5lb pumpkin, peeled, seeded, diced - this leaves you with approx 1.1kg/1.5lb pumpkin flesh
1 large garlic clove, peeled and crushed
salt and pepper
150-175g/5-6oz lasagne sheets
1 quantity of bechamel sauce or tomato sauce
200g/7oz goat's cheese log, sliced into thin rounds
Bechamel sauce
50g/2oz butter
40g/1.5oz flour
600ml/1 pint milk
1 bay leaf
fresh parsley
slice of onion
a little extra milk
60-120ml/4-8 tablespoons cream (optional)
salt and pepper
freshly grated nutmeg
Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. When it froths, stir in half the milk and beat well over the heat until it thickens. Add the rest of the milk and keep stirring vigorously, still over the heat, until the sauce is thick and smooth. Add the bay leaf, parsley, and slice of onion then leave the sauce over a very low heat for 10 minutes. Thin the sauce by stirring in a little extra milk if necessary. If you are making the sauce well in advance, do not stir in the extra milk but pour it over the top of the sauce and leave it, to prevent a skin forming. When you are ready to use the sauce, stir it, remove the bay leaf, parsley and onion, add the cream and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Tomato sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 x 400g/14oz tins tomatoes or 900g/2lb fresh tomatoes, skinned and roughly chopped
salt and pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion. Cover and cook gently for about 10 minutes until tender but not brown. Add the garlic, stir well and cook for 1-2 minutes longer. Stir in the tomatoes and bash them about a bit to break them up. Bring to the boil, then let simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the liquid has disappeared and the sauce is thick. Season with salt and pepper.
Set the oven to 200C/400F/GM6. Grease a lasagne dish approx 20x30cm/8x12" and at least 6cm/2.5" deep.
Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan and fry the onion gently for 5 minutes with a lid on the pan. Then add the pumpkin and garlic and mix so that the pumpkin is covered in the butter and oil. Cover the pan and cook slowly for 15-20 mins until the pumpkin is tender. Season with salt and pepper.
Rinse the lasagne sheets under the cold tap and then arrange some in the base of the dish to cover it. On top of this, add a layer of bechamel or tomato sauce, then half the pumpkin. Add another layer of lasagne, more bechamel or tomato sauce, a layer of half the goat's cheese and the rest of the pumpkin. Then one more layer of lasagne, then the remainder of the bechamel or tomato sauce and the rest of the goat's cheese.
Bake for 35-40 mins until the pasta is tender and the top is golden brown.
I always make it with butternut squash instead of pumpkin because it's tastier.