Today I prepared a first course with a typical autumn ingredient: pumpkin, which in my opinion pairs beautifully with the strong flavor of SAUSAGE.
Pumpkin and sausage lasagna is an easy and tasty dish that can be prepared in advance and is fairly quick, especially if we use those ready-made products that have now entered almost all kitchens: ready-to-use fresh pasta sheets and béchamel sauce that we find in cartons at the supermarket.
Originally from Central America, pumpkin is a king of autumn vegetables, and its varieties are truly numerous in shape, color, and especially flavor.
The most famous varieties are Delica pumpkin (with green skin), Quintale pumpkin (with orange skin), Hokkaido pumpkin (with orange or striped skin), but we also have Butternut and Violina with elongated shapes and the Muscade de Provence with large ribs that cover a firm orange and very tasty flesh.
There are different varieties of PUMPKIN such as:
1) Spaghetti Pumpkin recommended for low-calorie diets
2) Hokkaido Pumpkin for risottos, velvety soups, creams
3) Butternut Violina Pumpkin for recipes from appetizers to desserts
4) Mini Kawaii Lady Pumpkin very versatile with 26 kcal per 100 g of pulp
5) Delica Pumpkin often used as filling for tortelli, tortelloni, and cappellacci
6) Iron Cup Pumpkin perfect for risottos and roasts
7) Turbante Pumpkin excellent in soups and velvety soups
8) Muscade Pumpkin very tasty and good for risottos
9) Mantovana Pumpkin (made like a turban) for fillings but also desserts and jams.
I added rosemary as a spice, which gives a greater tone to the pumpkin, but follow me as we go into the kitchen to prepare pumpkin and sausage lasagna!
PUMPKIN AND SAUSAGE LASAGNA
The kitchen of ASI
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very economical
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: 6 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter, and Spring
Ingredients for PUMPKIN AND SAUSAGE LASAGNA
- 1 package ready-to-use fresh pasta sheets
- 1.5 lbs pumpkin
- 1.1 lbs sausage
- 2 cups béchamel
- 1 glass Dry white wine
- to taste Parmesan cheese (grated)
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- to taste fresh rosemary
Tools for PUMPKIN AND SAUSAGE LASAGNA
- Casseroles
- Knives
Preparation for PUMPKIN AND SAUSAGE LASAGNA
Clean the pumpkin by removing the skin, seeds, and inner filaments.
Cut it into chunks not too small and cook it in a pan with a drizzle of oil and hot water if needed.
Continue cooking THE PUMPKIN until tender but not overcooked, adding some fresh rosemary needles if desired. Season with salt.
Sauté the sausage by crumbling it and removing the casing in a small pan without any added fat.
Add the wine and let the alcohol evaporate completely, then finish cooking.
Season with salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 356°F.
For the béchamel follow this recipe or buy it ready-made in a carton.
Set aside 2/3 tablespoons of béchamel and mix the rest with the cooked pumpkin.
In a baking dish, proceed as usual to make the pumpkin and sausage lasagna, starting with a layer of ready-to-use pasta sheets. Spread now a little of the pumpkin-béchamel mix and some pieces of sausage.
Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese and continue layering until all ingredients are used. I personally finished by adding the 2/3 tablespoons of béchamel set aside. Bake the pumpkin and sausage lasagna for about 30 minutes.
Let it cool slightly and serve this simple and autumnal dish, the pumpkin and sausage lasagna!
Enjoy your meal!
Annalisa
Tips and notes
During the cooking of the pumpkin I added rosemary as an aromatic herb, but sage is a spice that you can also add along with rosemary or as the only aroma. Oven-baked lasagna is a typical Italian dish with recipes dating back to about the 13th century. As with many other dishes, there are many regional versions that change ingredients according to typical foods and the most used condiments: in Northern Italy, the most famous are those called “Bolognese”.
