Squash, Sausage & Kale Lasagne, Oh my!

February 15, 2021

Squash, Sausage & Kale Lasagne, Oh my!

I like to spell lasagne with an "e" at the end...the Italian way, and plural.....not sure why, but I just do.

But if you spell it lasagna with an "a" at the end, that's normal too, and the American way, I just like to be different.

I also like to be different when it comes to making lasagne!

Tomato sauce & I are no longer friends......the acid reflux feeling is not fun, and I don't want to take the little purple pill, so that's that.

Bechamel is way better in my opinion.....a pesto lasagne is good too.....see ya tomato sauce.....you won't be missed after you try this version.

This recipe was a happy accident.

I bought special no boil noodles from Italy, and I had cooked honeynut squash in the freezer. Kale from a salad the night before and always sausage in the freezer.

Let's do this.

I made a squash cream sauce, since you need a sauce for the no boil noodles.....you can use roasted butternut squash or honeynut squash, anything you like. I even threw in some cooked purple cabbage w/ the kale! SO good!

The recipe is anything but conventional, but it was SO DAMN GOOD....everyone loved it and asked for the recipe, so here it is. Remember, do your own thing, it's a lasagne, a casserole really....you can't make a mistake here.

Squash, Sausage & Kale Lasagne:

12 no boil lasagne noodles (a trick: run under hot water before layering)

1 cup or more of cooked butternut or honeynut squash (roast pieces with kosher salt and olive oil at 400F for 30 minutes, then mash)

4 good quality Italian sausage links, removed from casings

1 large onion, sliced

lacinato kale, ribs removed (leafy spinach works too, or cooked cabbage!)

handful of fresh sage leaves

1 1/2 cups of heavy cream

1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (divided)

1 lb. fresh mozzarella cheese (I like the stuff packed in water)

1/4 cup chicken stock

Roast or boil the squash and mash it. I do this a week ahead and freeze it so I always have cooked squash on hand for cakes and recipes like this.

Heat the cream, just until a boil and mix in the squash....you are going for a light orange colored cream sauce. Add in 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Season with salt & pepper, and set aside.

Next step: In a skillet, cook the sausage in some olive oil until all the pink is out and remove from the pan.

In the same pan, add more olive oil and saute the sliced onion with the sage, just until softened.

Now let's assemble:

Rinse the no boil noodles under hot water in the sink, it makes them easier to work with.

Oil an 8 x 10 casserole baking dish.

Spoon a small amount of the squash cream sauce on the bottom of the pan and lay 4 noodles down.

Spoon some sausage, sage and onion mixture on top of the noodles. Throw on some kale, then a layer of mozzarella clumps and squash cream. Season with salt & pepper.