Since I wouldn’t be a real food blogger without including at least one butternut squash recipe this fall, here’s the obligatory butternut post! I had some leftover lasagna noodles and ricotta cheese after making vegetarian lasagna Friday night, so when I saw this butternut squash lasagna roll recipe on Skinny Taste, I thought it would be the perfect way to use up my ingredients while still keeping some variety in my weekly menu.
I made these lasagna rolls on Saturday while listening to the Alabama game on the radio. With the smell of butternut and Eli Gold’s voice, I could almost imagine that I was back home for a cozy autumn weekend! I know it’s still a bit early for Halloween activities…but the weather in Paris is so beautiful and fall-like at the moment that I had to celebrate with a couple of scary movies and this delicious fall recipe.
Side note: Why are some of the most delicious foods also some of the ugliest ? I showed this photo to Alex, and he told me it didn’t look appetizing at all because of the “burnt” zucchini and the “orange stuff” on the lasagna rolls. I promise it really did taste great!
To go along with the butternut lasagna rolls, I made a side of baked zucchini chips. This is my new favorite way to prepare zucchini–the chips turn out beautifully crunchy and salty, and the char adds more depth to the flavor that sautéeing or steaming, in my opinion.
I modified the Skinny Taste recipe just a little, removing some of the cheese and adding mushrooms. I might add some nutmeg to the butternut sauce next time…I think that this will be a recipe I’ll continue to play around with this season.
Baked zucchini chips
Ingredients
– One large zucchini
– Sea salt
– Cooking spray (I used Smart Balance)
Directions
1) Preheat oven to 450 F / 230 C and spray a non-stick baking sheet with cooking spray.2) Wash and slice zucchini into 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) rounds.
3) Lay zucchini on baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Spray the tops with cooking spray.
4) Bake for 30 minutes, turning halfway through.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Butternut squash lasagna rolls inspired by SkinnyTaste
Serves 2 (1 serving = 2 lasagna rolls)
Ingredients
– 225 g / 1/2 lb butternut squash, peeled and diced
– 1 t olive oil
– 1/4 c chopped onions
– 1 clove minced garlic
– 1 T + 2 T grated parmesan- 4 lasagna noodles, cooked
– 50 g / 1.75 oz canned or boiled fresh spinach
– 50 g / 1.75 oz canned or sautéed fresh mushrooms
– 1 large egg
– 150 g / 5.5 oz ricotta cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 450 F / 230 C
1) Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook butternut squash until soft, about 20 minutes.
2) Drain squash, reserving around 1 cup of the liquid. Place squash and some of the reserved liquid in blender and blend until smooth.
3) Sautée the onions and garlic over medium heat until soft, 4-5 minutes. Add the squash, 1 T of grated parmesan, and season with salt and pepper. Add more of the reserved liquid if needed until desired thickness is reached. Set aside.
4) Combine spinach, mushrooms, ricotta, and egg in a bowl. Mix until well blended.
5) Lay the lasagna noodles flat on a sheet of parchment paper. Spoon 1/4 of the ricotta mixture onto each noodle and roll carefully.
6) Spread half of the butternut sauce in a 10×10 or similar baking dish. Carefully place the lasagna rolls in the dish, seam side down. pour the rest of the butternut sauce over the lasagna rolls and top with the 2 T remaining parmesan cheese.
7) Bake until golden and bubbling, around 30 minutes.
The Baguette Diet 
Yum!