This pasta is one of my favourites to make for company. Its fun shape has a wow factor when serving, and the fact that everything can be prepped ahead before popping it in the oven makes the clean up easy. It’s also packed full of veggies, but I don’t think anyone will miss the meat. Butternut squash is one of my favourite vegetables and its natural sweetness and pop of colour adds to the fun. Broiling for a few mins at the end will achieve the crispy edges effect from lasagna, adding texture to every bite. A few simple ingredients come together for a lot of comforting flavour.
Butternut Squash Pasta Roses
1.5 hours total
Ingredients:
1 small butternut squash roasted, prepared below (can be done a day ahead of time)
3 cups fresh spinach (I often use a whole container 5 oz)
1 container of ricotta (475g)
1 package of “fresh” lasagna sheets
1 bottle of tomato sauce (or make your own, below)
Kosher salt
Pepper
Optional: Parmesan cheese
Optional homemade sauce:
1 bottle of passata (or canned crushed tomatoes if you can’t find passata)
2 tbsp of olive oil
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
Optional: dried herbs (oregeno, basil or italian seasoning), red pepper flakes
Method:
Butternut squash prep: (while your squash is roasting you can prep your sauce and filling)
Preheat oven to 400F
Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds/stringy flesh
Place the butternut squash face down on a parchment sheet lined cookie sheet and roast for 30-40 mins, until the outside skin looks dark and the squash has slightly collapsed. You want the flesh to be fork tender.
Scoop the butternut squash flesh into a bowl and season with salt and pepper. You want the squash to be well seasoned - it should taste good on it’s own. Set bowl aside.
Sauce prep (optional):
Add 2 tbsp of olive oil into a sauce pan (or skillet) and heat to medium heat
Add in 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced, and sautee until fragrant (30 seconds to 1 min)
If you are adding in dried herbs, add them now (I usually do about 2 tsp of oregeno)
Pour in 1 bottle of passata and let it simmer on low for 15-20 mins, or until you’re ready to assemble the pasta. Cover if you’re going to simmer for longer than 20 mins, otherwise you’ll lose too much liquid.
Season with salt and pepper, feel free to add a pinch of red pepper flakes too if you like some spice
Cheese filling prep:
Add the ricotta into a bowl
Thinly slice spinach into small strands and add to bowl
Stir, seasoning with salt and pepper - add 2 tbsp of grated Parmesan if you’re feeling cheesy. Set aside.
The pasta prep:
Bring a pot of well salted water to a boil (1-2 tbsp of salt - don’t be afraid of salt, you want your water to be well seasoned so that your pasta is seasoned)
Drop in one lasagna sheet and simmer until it floats, about 1 minute
Transfer the lasagna sheet to a bowl and drizzle a little olive oil to prevent it sticking to the next
Continue until all the pasta sheets are cooked
The assembly:
Preheat oven to 375F
Scoop about ½ cup of your pasta sauce and spread at the bottom of a 13 x 9 glass baking dish
On a cutting board, place one pasta sheet down
Spread one spoonful of ricotta filling onto the pasta sheet (about 1/4 cup)
Spread a spoonful of butternut squash filling on top (about 2 tbsp) - it will mix a little bit but try to layer as best as possible
Roll the pasta sheet from the short side (should be a short cylinder, not a long cylinder)
Slice into thirds. Place each piece vertically in the baking dish so they look like roses
Continue the above for each pasta sheet, filling the pasta sheet (you might have some spaces between the “roses” but that’s ok!)
Fill the spaces between the pasta with remaining pasta sauce
Top with grated parmesan if your heart desires
Cover with tinfoil, and place in the oven, bake in your preheated oven for 30 mins
After 30 mins, remove the tin foil and broil on high for 2-3 mins to get some crispy edges on the pasta tops
Serve by itself, with garlic bread, or with a simple arugula salad (lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper)