Pasta is my go-to for a satisfying, and economical dinner.
There are so many varieties of this truly international food. I love all the Asian noodles used in dishes — from pad Thai to pho, as well as German spaetzle, Greek orzo and Polish pierogis.
Pasta was thought to be first made by Asian cultures and brought to Italy from China by Marco Polo in the 13th century. The rest is history.
The Italian word pasta refers to “paste” because the dough is made from a simple combination of flour and water, with sometimes the addition of egg and olive oil. Making pasta dough can be quick work with a dough hook on a stand mixer, but there are many good fresh pastas available at grocery stores as well as good dried pastas such as De Cecco.
Italian pasta comes in over 350 shapes and sizes — from long pasta, short pasta, pasta for filling and pasta for soups. Some shapes and sizes are better for holding sauces in their ridges, while others are better for baked dishes.
In colder weather I like the hearty texture of a pappardelle or fettuccine paired with a nice hearty ragu, or sauce with meat.
Lasagna noodles are great for making pasta for a crowd. This week I have included a recipe for a nice autumnal pasta using lasagna noodles as well as pumpkin.
Zucca, or “pumpkin” in Italian, is a common ingredient that is used seasonally in Italy. My pumpkin, spinach, and sausage lasagna recipe can be prepared with a packaged no-boil or traditional dried lasagna, or with homemade lasagna pasta sheets as I do in my cooking classes.
Enjoy!
Pumpkin, spinach and sausage lasagnaServes 6
Ingredients
• Dried lasagna noodles
• 1 pound provolone, sliced
• 1 pound mozzarella, shredded
Sausage and spinach mixture
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound Italian sausage mild, casings removed
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 5 large cloves garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ cup white wine
• 8 cups baby spinach
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Pumpkin sauce
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• ½ tablespoon oregano dried
• ½ cup white wine
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 4 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• ½ cup ricotta cheese
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
• ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon dried sage
• Pinch red pepper flakes
Bechamel
• ¼ cup butter
• ¼ cup flour
• 3 cups whole milk
• 2 cups grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons Italian dried herbs or seasoning
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ lemon, juiced
Preparation
1. Finely crumble and brown sausage in a deep skillet. Remove and set aside.
2. In the same skillet in the sausage fat, sauté onion. Add 3 cloves garlic and cook one minute. Stir in wine and season with oregano, salt, and pepper to taste. Add the spinach and balsamic vinegar tossing gently until just softened. Stir in cooked sausage and season to taste. Set aside and cool.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add lasagna noodles and stir to separate. Follow cooking directions on package, but undercook to very al dente as pasta will continue to cook in the oven. Remove pot to sink and add cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
4. Meanwhile in a medium saucepan melt butter. Whisk in flour to form a roux, cooking for a few minutes. Whisk in milk, and continue to stir until sauce thickens. Stir in ½ cup of the grated parmesan, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, Italian herbs or seasoning, bay, nutmeg, 2 cloves garlic, and lemon juice. Adjust seasonings to taste. Set the seasoned bechamel aside and cool.
5. Heat a saucepan over medium low heat. Add oil and heat. Sauté onion, until translucent. Stir in garlic and oregano and stir for just a minute, add white wine, and simmer. Stir in remaining sauce ingredients and season to taste. Set aside.
6. Prepare a large baking pan with nonstick spray. Ladle enough sauce to cover the bottom. Begin layering pasta sheets so they overlap slightly. Spread a layer of spinach sausage mixture on the pasta layer. Ladle the bechamel over the spinach mixture.
7. Continue to layer more pasta and top with sliced provolone. Ladle sauce over the cheese. Continue to alternate layers finishing with a layer of pasta topped with sauce. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella evenly over top of lasagna. Sprinkle grated parmesan on mozzarella and then finish with Italian herbs. Cover tightly with foil and set on a sheet pan.
8. Bake lasagna in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Rotate pan and bake about 20 minutes more. Uncover foil and bake until hot and bubbly and slightly browned. Cool 15 minutes before cutting. To serve ladle hot sauce into a shallow bowl and top with a slice of lasagna.
If you have a cooking question, contact me at cher.orr@gmail.com and I’d be happy to assist!
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