Harvest Lasagna with Roasted Squash and Caramelized Onions

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Harvest Lasagna with Roasted Squash and Caramelized Onions
Serves 12

Ingredients for Acorn/Butternut Squash:
2-lb Acorn or butternut squash, halved and de-seeded – $2.00
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter – stock
2 Tablespoons honey – stock
1 teaspoon salt – stock

Ingredients for Caramelized Onions:
1 large sweet onion, roughly chopped – $1.75
2 teaspoons olive oil – stock
1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar – stock

Ingredients for Yellow Squash and Zucchini:
1 yellow squash, sliced into ¼-inch slivers – $1.00
1 green zucchini, sliced into ¼-inch slivers – $1.67
2½ Tablespoons olive oil – stock
2½ Tablespoons Balsamic vinegar – stock
2 teaspoons honey – stock
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard – stock
Dash of black pepper – stock

Remaining Ingredients for Lasagna:
4-oz thinly sliced prosciutto – $4.99
15-oz part skim Ricotta – $3.49
1 cup of freshly shredded parmesan, divided – $2.99
2 eggs – stock
2 large garlic cloves, finely minced – stock
Salt & pepper – stock
24-oz jar of tomato sauce – $2.49
¾-cup chicken stock – stock
Lasagna noodles, uncooked – $1.79
Grand total assuming well-stocked kitchen: $22.17
Cost per serving: $1.84

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. After halving the squash and removing any seeds and strings, place in a roasting pan, cut side up (PS, you can roast winter squash seeds like pumpkin seeds, so save ’em!). Fill the pan with a ¼-inch of water. Smear the squash flesh with butter, then drizzle with honey and sprinkle with salt, allowing excess to accumulate in the well.

3. Roast the squash for 1 hour.

4. After you pop the squash into the oven, prepare the onions. Combine all onion ingredients and caramelize over a medium-low flame for about 55 minutes, stirring frequently and adjusting the flame as necessary to avoid burning the onions. You’ll bring them to a nice golden color and they’ll be very tender and sweet by the end of it.

5. Next up is the zucchini and yellow squash – slice into ¼-inch slivers. Whisk together the olive oil, Balsamic vinegar, honey, mustard and pepper in a small glass dish, then spread the zucchini and yellow squash slices onto a large baking sheet. Brush each side of the slices with the Balsamic dressing (you’ll likely have leftover dressing) and roast with the acorn squash at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, until they start to crisp up. Set aside and allow to cool.

6. The prosciutto: Spread the prosciutto on a baking sheet and roast for 8 minutes, until it crisps. Set aside.

7. While the acorn squash finishes cooking, combine the ricotta, 2 eggs, 2 garlic cloves, a dash of salt and pepper, any leftover Balsamic dressing from the zucchini and ½-cup of the shredded parmesan in a medium bowl. Set aside.

8. Combine the tomato sauce and chicken stock in another bowl, set aside.

9. Once the acorn squash is done roasting (and is nice and tender), remove from the roasting pan and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before attempting to handle. Once it’s cool, peel away the outer skin and chop into chunks. The onions should now be done as well, remove from heat and set those aside.

10. Spray a glass casserole/baking dish with Pam and assemble the lasagna. Start with a thin layer of marinara sauce, then a row of uncooked lasagna noodles, followed by more marinara, then half the acorn squash, a third of the ricotta mixture, a third of the zucchini, a third of the onions and a third of the prosciutto then top with another row of noodles. Repeat once more. Then create the top layer, which goes like this: tomato sauce, zucchini, ricotta, onions, prosciutto then the last ½-cup of freshly-shredded parmesan.

11. Bake for 55 minutes or until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling. Allow to stand for at least 10 minutes before cutting, this allows the cheese to thicken and congeal.