Come fall and winter, Half Baked Harvest blogger and cookbook author Tieghan Gerard makes this gooey, comforting lasagna on repeat.
The recipe, featured in the new Half Baked Harvest cookbook, “Super Simple: More Than 125 Recipes for Instant, Overnight, Meal-Prepped and Easy Comfort Foods” (Clarkson Potter, $30), uses pumpkin puree, three cheeses, fresh sage and no-boil lasagna sheets for a perfectly easy cozy meal.
Best part? You can prep it through step 3 up to two days before serving, then cover it with foil and keep it in the fridge. Allow it to sit at room temperature while the oven preheats, then pick up with step 4.
Pumpkin and Sage Lasagna with Fontina
Serves 8 to 10
Ingredients:
14-ounce can pumpkin puree
2 cups whole milk
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried basil
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
16 ounces whole-milk ricotta cheese
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves, plus 8 whole leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12-ounce box no-boil lasagna noodles
12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
3 cups shredded fontina cheese, divided use
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12 to 16 pieces thinly sliced pepperoni (optional)
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan
Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 by 13-inch baking dish.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, milk, oregano, basil, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. In a separate medium bowl, combine the ricotta, garlic, chopped sage and parsley, and season with salt and pepper.
Spread a quarter of the pumpkin sauce (about 1 cup) in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Add 3 or 4 lasagna sheets, breaking them as needed to fit. It is okay if the sheets do not fully cover the sauce.
Layer on half the ricotta mixture, half the red peppers, then 1 cup of fontina. Add another cup of the pumpkin sauce, and place 3 or 4 lasagna noodles on top.
Layer on the remaining ricotta mixture and red peppers, 1 cup fontina and another cup of the pumpkin sauce. Add the remaining lasagna noodles and the remaining pumpkin sauce.
Sprinkle the remaining fontina on top, followed by the Parmesan cheese. Top with the pepperoni (if using).
In a small bowl, toss the whole sage leaves in the 2 teaspoons olive oil. Arrange on top of the lasagna.
Cover the lasagna with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Increase the heat to 425 degrees, remove the foil and bake until the cheese is bubbling, about 10 minutes more. Let the lasagna stand for 10 minutes before serving. Store any leftovers refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
— From “Half Baked Harvest Super Simple” by Tieghan Gerard (Clarkson Potter; $30)
