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Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagne

Cathy loves Butternut Squash with all kinds of pastas. She Googled Butternut Squash Lasagne and found a recipe Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagne on Epicuirious.com. We made the Butternut mixture ahead of time and then assembled the lasagna when we were ready to make it, a few days latter.

We really liked this dish. The flavors and colors remind us that winter is approaching. It is a great treat to eat because of the crunchy texture of the nuts combined with the soft texture of the lasagna. We know we will make this lasagna again, perhaps we will add some bacon (my favorite seasoning). I think it will enhance it.

We used Lasagne from Rustichella d’abruzzo. It is hard to find, we bought ½ a case via Amazon. We think it is the best pasta and try to always use it.

We started with a Pear Salad. We use lettuce, blue cheese, almonds and topped with prosciutto and balsamic. It was our first pears of the season. The salad was a treat.

Epicurious.com

Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagne
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Active Time: 1 1/2 hr
Total Time: 2 1/2 hr

For squash filling
1 large onion, chopped
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
4 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
1 cup hazelnuts (4 oz), toasted , loose skins rubbed off with a kitchen towel, and coarsely chopped

For sauce
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups milk
1 bay leaf (not California)
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

For assembling lasagne
1/2 lb fresh mozzarella, coarsely grated (2 cups)
1 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (3 oz)
12 (7- by 3 1/2-inch) sheets no-boil lasagne (1/2 lb)

Make filling:
Cook onion in butter in a deep 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes. Add squash, garlic, salt, and white pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until squash is just tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, sage, and nuts. Cool filling.

Make sauce while squash cooks:
Cook garlic in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring, 1 minute. Whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add milk in a stream, whisking. Add bay leaf and bring to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce heat and simmer, whisking occasionally, 10 minutes. Whisk in salt and white pepper and remove from heat. Discard bay leaf. (Cover surface of sauce with wax paper if not using immediately.)

Assemble lasagne:
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Toss cheeses together. Spread 1/2 cup sauce in a buttered 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass baking dish (or other shallow 3-quart baking dish) and cover with 3 pasta sheets, leaving spaces between sheets. Spread with 2/3 cup sauce and one third of filling, then sprinkle with a heaping 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat layering 2 more times, beginning with pasta sheets and ending with cheese. Top with remaining 3 pasta sheets, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese.
Tightly cover baking dish with buttered foil and bake lasagne in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake until golden and bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes more. Let lasagne stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Cooks' note:
• Filling and sauce can be made 1 day ahead and kept separately, covered and chilled. Bring to room temperature before assembling.

T and T Dinner (Tart and Tagine)

Bea came over for dinner. We made a recipe for Fig Tart With Caramelized Onions, Rosemary and Stilton from the New York Times. I really liked it, very rich! It reminded Cathy and I of a Pizza we use to get at Café Quattro in San Francisco.

We then made a Beef Tagine with Sweet Potatoes from The Food of Morocco. Susan had recommended the cookbook to us. I loved this recipe. It was a combination of tastes of both Moroccan Spices and the sweetness of the Potatoes. The meat was extremely succulent. We used the Tagine maker that Courtney had given us, it gets very hot and steams the meat. Plus it is beautiful!

We served Couscous with it.





New York Times
________________________________________
September 30, 2009
Recipe
Fig Tart With Caramelized Onions, Rosemary and Stilton
Time: 1 1/2 hours
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 large onions (1 1/2 pounds), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 sprig rosemary, more for garnish
Pinch sugar
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
Flour for dusting
3/4 pound prepared puff pastry
1 pint fresh figs ( 3/4 pound), stemmed and cut in half lengthwise
1 1/2 ounces Stilton cheese, crumbled (about 6 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons pine nuts
Good-quality honey for drizzling, optional.
1. In a large skillet over low heat, melt butter with oil. Add onions, rosemary and sugar. Cook, tossing occasionally, until onions are limp and golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, scraping any browned bits from bottom of pan.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg until smooth. Stir in the onions. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line an 11 by 17-inch baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to a 9 by 12-inch rectangle. Transfer to baking sheet.
3. Use a fork to spread onion mixture evenly over pastry (let excess egg mixture drip back into bowl), leaving a 1-inch border. Arrange figs, cut-side up, in even rows on onion mixture. Scatter cheese and pine nuts over figs. Use a pastry brush to dab edges of tart with egg mixture. Gently fold over edges of tart to form a lip and brush with more egg mixture.
4. Bake until pastry is puffed and golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve, sprinkled with rosemary needles and drizzled with honey, if desired, warm or at room temperature.
Yield: 8 servings.

THE FOOD of Morocco
TAGINE LAHM BIL BATATA HELWA

BEEF TAGINE WITH SWEET POTATOES

USE THE ORANGE-FLESHED SWEET POTATO AS IT IS MEALY AND. SWEET, AND KEEPS ITS SHAPE COOKED. THE TAGINE IS FINISHED AND BROWNED IN. THE OVEN; IN TRADITIONAL MOROCCAN COOKING, IT WOULD BE COVERED WITH A METAL LID WITH GLOWING CHARCOAL PLACED ON TOP.

1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) blade or chuck steak
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons paprika
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
2 tablespoons chopped coriander (cilantro) leaves
2 tomatoes
500 g (1. lb 2 oz) orange sweet potatoes,

TRIM the steak of any fat and cut into 1 inch pieces. Heat half the oil in a saucepan and bi the. beef in batches over high heat, adding a more oil as needed. Set aside in a dish.

REDUCE the heat to low, add .the onion and the remaining oil to the pan and gently cook 10 minutes, or until the onion has softened. Add the cayenne pepper, cumin, turmeric, ginger and paprika, cook for a few seconds, then add 1 teaspoon salt and a good grinding of black pepper. Return the beef to the pan, along wi parsley, coriander and 250 ml (9 fl oz / 1 cup) Cover and simmer over low heat for 11/2 hour until the meat is almost tender.

PEEL the tomatoes. To do this, score a cross in the base of each one using a knife. Put the tomatoes in a bowl of boiling water for 20 seconds, then plunge into a bowl of cold water to cool. Remove from the water and peel the skin away from the cross the skin should slip off easily. Slice the tomatoes. Peel the sweet potatoes cut them into ¾ in chunks and leave in cold water until required, as this will prevent them discoloring. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

TRANSFER the meat and its sauce to the ovenproof serving dish (the base of tagine would be ideal). Drain the sweet potatoes and spread them on top of the beef. Top with the sliced tomatoes. Cover with foil (or the lid of the tagine) and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil, increase the oven temperature to 425 F and raise the tomatoes and sweet potatoes are flecked with brown and are served tender. Serve from the dish.