Everyone will love this special vegetarian lasagna, featuring pumpkin as a secret ingredient.
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 red pepper
- 8 oz / 225 g peeled and seeded butternut squash
- 8 oz / 225 g cremini mushrooms
- 28 oz / 800 g canned chopped tomatoes
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 5 tbsp / 70 g butter
- 5 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 4 oz / 100 g Gruyere cheese
- 9 lasagna noodles
- 9 oz / 250 g mozzarella
- Chop the onion roughly, crush garlic cloves. Remove pepper seeds and dice it. Chop squash into small cubes. Heat oil in a deep pan over moderate heat. Add chopped vegetables and cook for 5 mins, until onion softens. Add sliced mushrooms, canned tomatoes, sugar, thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for 30 mins, until vegetables are tender.
- While vegetables are cooking, melt butter in a saucepan over moderate heat. Add flour and whisk for a minute. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly, until the white sauce is smooth and thick. Season with salt and pepper, add mustard. Grate the Gruyere cheese and add half of it to the sauce, reserve the rest for later.
- Preheat oven to 400° F/ 200° C. Chop mozzarella into small cubes. Spoon a bit of the white sauce over the base of a 2-quart / 2 liter square oven proof dish. Arrange a layer of lasagna noodles on top. Scatter over ⅓ of the mozzarella. Spoon ⅓ of the vegetable sauce on top, followed by ⅓ of the white sauce. Arrange another lasagna noodles layer, top with ⅓ of the mozzarella, vegetable sauce and white sauce. Repeat once more with the rest of the ingredients and sprinkle the remaining Gruyere cheese on top. Bake lasagna for 45 mins, until golden brown and bubbling around the edges.
