Butternut Squash, Sage and Ricotta Lasagna

This recipe is perfect for a cool autumnal dinner, or as a side dish for Thanksgiving! It also goes great with the avacado, orange and walnut salad!

3 1/2 pounds of butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes*
2 Tbsp. olive oil
s/p
1 pound skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream (I used low fat milk with great results)
2 egg yolks
1 1/2- 2 cups mozzarella cheese (again, i used skim)
pinch of nutmeg
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/3 loosely  packed  fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups veggie stock
Lasagna noodles (i prefer the no boil...less work)
1 1/4 cups parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Place the cubed butternut squash on a rimmed baking sheet and toss with olive oil and season with s/p.  Bake it until tender and edges turn golden brown.  Remove and let it cool.

2.  Reduce the oven to 375.  Mix together ricotta, milk, egg yolks, mozzarella and nutmeg. Season with s/p.

3. Melt butter in a small pan over medium high heat.  Wait until the butter starts bubbling and add the chopped sage.  Stir frequently.  Cook until sage crisps up, about 3-5 minutes.

4. Place roasted squash in a bowl and mash it with a potato masher or back of a wooden spoon.  Feel free to adjust the texture.  If you want a smoother consistency, keep on mashing.  If you prefer more texture, leave some chunks.  Stir in sage/butter mixture and stock.  Season with s/p.

5. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.  Spread 3/4 cup of ricotta mixture in bottom of the dish.  Top that with a layer of noodles.  Spread 1/2 of the butternut squash mixture over the noodles and top with another layer of noodles.  Spread 1 cup of ricotta over noodles.  Repeat layering one more time (noodles, squash, noodles, ricotta).  Sprinkle parmesan over ricotta.  Don't worry if you end with squash on the top...it will still turn out!  Just make sure that top layer of noodles are covered with some mixture, otherwise it will dry out.

6. Bake until cheese is bubbling and golden brown, about 30-35 minutes.  Let it stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

*Trader Joes has butternut squash already chopped and in a bag, super easy!  However, nothing quite beats the taste of fresh squash...