Vegetable Lasagna with Butternut Bechamel

This one has several steps, but if you do it in stages, ahead of time, the final assembly will go quickly. It would also travel well, and will be wonderful reheated.

1 pound (about 16) lasagna noodles
2 to 2 1/2 pound butternut squash (or 2 pounds chopped squash)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large bunch (about 5 large leaves) chard, well-washed
1 pound fresh mushrooms, washed and sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup water or white wine
1 cup milk, plus additional if needed
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 lemon, zested *
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves, plus extra for the top of the lasagna
1 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan and mozzarella cheese mix

Heat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add the lasagna noodles and cook as directed on the package. When cooked, drain and lay out on clean kitchen towels to dry.

While the pasta is cooking, cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Brush the cut sides with olive oil and place in baking pan, cut side down. Bake for 40 minutes or until extremely soft.

Remove the stems and ribs from the chard leaves by folding each leaf in half lengthwise and using the tip of a chef's knife to slit away the main rib. Chop each rib and stem into 1/2-inch pieces. Roll each leaf up into a cigar shape, cut it in half lengthwise, and then crossways into thin ribbons.

Heat a thin drizzle of oil  in a 10-inch sauté pan. Turn the heat to medium-high and add the mushrooms. Cook without stirring until quite brown — about 5 to 7 minutes. Flip them over and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium, and add the garlic and chard stems to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant — about 3 minutes. Add the chopped chard leaves and 1/4 cup water or white wine and cook until the leaves are tender and wilted. Turn off the heat and season the vegetables lightly with salt and pepper.

At this point the butternut squash should be quite soft. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Scoop all the squash out of the peel, into a bowl and add 1/2 cup milk, the nutmeg, lemon zest and thyme. Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture, adding the remaining milk as you go (this can also be done in a traditional blender). Add extra milk if necessary to make the sauce smooth and creamy, but not too thin. (Think thin fruit smoothie.) Add salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble the lasagna, spoon about 1/4 of the butternut sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking pan and spread to thinly coat the bottom. Place 1/4 of the noodles on top (four noodles) and then spread 1/3 of remaining sauce on noodles. Top with 1/2 of the cooked vegetables, and 1/2 cup of cheese. Add another layer of noodles, then sauce, then the rest of the vegetables, and 1/2 cup of cheese. Place the final layer of noodles over the vegetables and spread the last 1/3 of the sauce over top. Sprinkle evenly with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and a pinch of thyme leaves.

Cover the lasagna with foil and bake at 375°F for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until the top is golden and the cheese is gooey. Remove from the oven and let stand uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing. Serve with a good green salad and some bread.

* the zest is the bright yellow part of the lemon peel. You can grate it off, with a fine grater, or carefully slice it off in thin strips, and then chop it finely. Be sure to avoid the white part of the peel, it doesn’t taste good.  Serves 6 to 8

This recipe was featured on http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-chard-mushroom-lasagna-137482