Last week I was at work in the restaurant. My manager was unusually late. When she finally arrived she had a frazzled look on her face, which seemed strange and contrasting to the sight of her holding a butternut squash.
She handed me the squash and said "this is for you". I couldn't help think it was odd. I asked her why. She told me she won't use it. It was from her house.
I thanked her. Of course I can use a butternut squash.
At the end of the shift, my partner, who works with me in the kitchen, and myself, were walking out with our coats on. She called us to gather with the 3 other front staff.
She announced that the owner will close the restaurant permanently in less than 2 weeks.
Even though there was an odd sense of relief, I felt like I had a little dagger put in my gut.
After that we went home. I put the butternut squash on the counter and started thinking about it. I thought that if I were in her shoes, knowing I would be making this announcement, I would have waited to give a butternut squash. Don't get me wrong. I was glad she did it.
You see, having a dagger in the gut, after a gift of butternut squash, is better then a dagger in the gut, with no butter nut squash.
It was the last shift before our days off, so I thought I would take the time to make a lasagne, which I had wanted to do for a while.
As strange as it may seem, I used squash and onion for the main filler to substitute for the usual cheese and meat that may normally be used. I happen to have an excess amount of onions.
If you think this wouldn't work, I guarantee that it is a perfect plant based lasagne filler. I have never done this before.
When life gives you butternut squash, you make lasagne.
I found that the key to making a meatier filling was to roast the squash. It really brings out the sweetness and gives a better flavor. I tossed the cubed squash in some oil, salt and pepper, then put it in the oven. It was on 400 f which was a random choice. I checked it periodically to see if it was tender.
I used around 5 fairly large onions for this which may seem like onion overload, but I roasted the onions as well.
After rough chopping, they were tossed lightly in oil and sprinkled with salt, pepper and fresh thyme.
Just like the squash, they get sweet and lose their sharp strong onion flavor. I like raw onions for many things, but this was not the time to use raw onions.
To make the filler, I pureed the squash and the onions after they were roasted. I made sure there were no large pieces of onion. I wanted a more smooth puree but not creamy.
To the blender I added the juice of a lemon, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon dried sage, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1 teaspoon garlic powder and a teaspoon of crushed chili. This was quite a random choice of seasonings.
I also made a quick cashew cream to add as another cheese replacement.
Cashew cream
2 cups soaked cashews
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste.
Some of the soaking liquid
When blending the cashews and the rest of the ingredients, add the liquid slowly to keep the machine going. Try to keep it as thick as possible but also smooth. This will be like a cream cheese or ricotta but plant based of course.
I could have bought lasagne noodles that were ready made but I needed to get some therapy by kneading dough. This is either really pain staking for some, or therapy for people like me. I really love homemade pasta anyway. Well I love ready made as well.
Lasagne noodles
3/4 cup water to 1 cup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups semolina
1 1/2 cups all purpose or a little more
I kneaded the dough for a long time. It was kind of tough and I ended up sprinkling a little extra water and adding flour to the rolling mat. I kind of went by feel. After around 15 minutes of kneading I rolled it in a ball and covered it for half an hour. I'm no expert but the end result was good.
I could have just continued with my pasta therapy and used only the rolling pin, but I have a pasta machine. This helped me thin out the dough a little faster. It's not necessary if you have patience and strength.
The ball was cut into smaller pieces then rolled out until it was thin enough to go into the pasta machine's largest setting. Then it was run through the smallest setting.
A while back I splurged on a pasta hanger. This to me is a needless luxury unless you make pasta every day in large amounts. It did come in handy this time.
After bringing a large pot of water to a rolling boil, I added the noodles and cooked until the noodles were tender. I didn't time it. I wanted them more tender then regular noodles but it took around 10 minutes.
After the noodles were cooled a bit, I started to assemble the lasagne. I happened to have some homemade tomato sauce. This is my go to recipe which can be used for Italian dishes or a base for an exotic dish or anything. You just have to season it accordingly. For an Italian dish you could add basil or oregano and for an exotic dish or other you would add exotic spices, ginger etc.
My basic tomato sauce
2 1/2 litres canned tomatoes
6 Roma tomatoes
1 cup tomato paste
2 onions
6 cloves garlic
1 stalk celery
1 carrot
3 bay leaves
Salt to taste
Saute onions then garlic in oil in a large pot. Add the celery and carrot roughly chopped and bay leaves and tomato paste. Caramelize then add the tomatoes and cook down for at least an hour. I simmered stirring frequently for more then 2 hours. At the end, blend everything except bay leaves, until desired consistency. I made it smooth.
After layering a lasagne pan with tomato sauce, add noodles to cover. I used a rectangle baking pan.
After the noodle layer, the squash onion layer was spread.
After the squash onion layer I spread the cashew cream.
I randomly decided to sprinkle some soy protein mince that I had to add some texture and simulate the mince that sometimes goes in lasagne. This probably was not needed but I had some, so I thought why not. It's not something I make a habit of using. My suspicions are that it isn't good for you.
I repeated the layering in the same order until I couldn't fit any more layers. It was a rather shallow pan but I think I managed around 4 layers including the top.
It was put in the oven at 400F and baked for around half an hour covered with foil, then 10 minutes without foil. This is an approximate time. I don't time things, I just check when I get the feeling.
I am a rather saucy person so I added a little extra sauce, that was heated, to the bottom of the plate.
In case you're wondering about the taste of squash being too dominant, I can assure you that it was not. The sweetness of the onion and squash, which was not too sweet, balanced with the tangy flavor of the tomato sauce.
In the old days I grew up with a few Italian friends and was in an Italian wedding band. I ate quite a few variations of lasagne but one thing they always had in common was grated cheese. I would imagine parmesan would be the go to. I'm sure there were a few others that they chose from.
Now I make a plant based version. It can be made very quickly if you have a blender and a few ingredients.
Grated plant based cheese
1 cup almond powder or almonds with no skin
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon citric acid (optional)
Salt to taste
Mix or blend everything together
I am pretty sure that if my meat and dairy eating in laws would have this, they would be very pleased and surprised that it's plant based. In fact I'm pretty sure I will make it again and take it to their house for Christmas. They are seniors with many serious health problems and don't cook much. I just have to convince them to try it. They don't want to eat anything vegan or plantbased.
This was an experiment for me. I have to say, that it was one, gone right.
Butternut squash can be substituted with any kind of yellow/orange gourde or pumpkin.
Thank you for stopping by and have a great day!
Photos taken with a Nikon D7500
