The Baked Squash Casserole is a rich and comforting dish, perfect for the autumn table. This vegetable is one of the most consumed during this period, and there are many recipes to use it, from main courses to desserts. For this recipe, I’ve chosen easily available ingredients: cooked ham, cheese, and béchamel sauce layered with thin slices of raw squash, cut with a mandolin, and finished with baking, giving us a delicious dish. Follow the instructions and prepare this recipe with me…

Other recipes with squash

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Medium
Preparation time: 20 Minutes
Portions: 4 People
Cooking methods: Electric oven
Cuisine: Italian
Seasonality: Autumn, Winter

487.20 Kcal

calories per serving

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Energy 487.20 (Kcal)
Carbohydrates 26.77 (g) of which sugars 9.45 (g)
Proteins 22.91 (g)
Fat 33.31 (g) of which saturated 21.09 (g)of which unsaturated 12.00 (g)
Fibers 3.51 (g)
Sodium 1,082.97 (mg)

Indicative values for a portion of 300 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA^* and FoodData Central^** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.

^* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ^** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

Ingredients

2 cups milk
3.5 tbsp butter
1/3 cup flour
2 pinches nutmeg (grated)
3 g fine salt
1.1 lbs Mantovana squash (clean weight)
3.5 oz provolone (sweet or other sliced cheese)
3.5 oz cooked ham (sliced)
2.1 oz grated parmesan
3 g fine salt
0.7 oz butter

Tools

Kitchen Scale
Mandoline
Pot
Bowl
Cutting Board
Baking Pan

Steps

Pour the milk into a small saucepan and bring it almost to a boil. Meanwhile, in another saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, and as soon as it melts and foams (the water it contains evaporates), remove from the heat and add the flour with nutmeg all at once, stirring quickly with a whisk to avoid lumps. Return to the heat and continue to cook until the roux becomes golden. Pour the roux into the boiling milk, stirring constantly with the whisk until the sauce thickens and begins to boil. Leave on the heat for 5 minutes, always stirring, and add salt. Since the squash will release water during cooking, it is better for the béchamel sauce to be thick.
Preheat the oven to 390 °F in fan mode or 435 °F in static mode
Remove the squash skin, filaments, and seeds, and with the help of a mandoline, cut into thin slices. No pre-cooking is needed since it will cook in its own moisture. In a baking dish, prepare the base with béchamel sauce, then make layers of squash slices, more sauce, cooked ham, provolone, grated parmesan, and salt.
Continue until all ingredients are used, and finish by adding small pieces of butter on top and a final sprinkle of parmesan. Bake in the middle of the oven for 40 minutes until a delicious burnt crust forms. Let it rest for 30 minutes so it can dry.