It was a lovely weekend filled with projects, painting, bike riding, and family time. We throughly enjoyed the sunshine and hot weather. And although there are not many signs of fall here in southern California, I jumped at the chance to participate in the fall recipe exchange that
Michelle at
pretty mommy put together (thanks Michelle!)..AND
Damris at kitchen corners was throwing a pumkin cook off! How could I resist?? I did have big hopes to show some multi-step pumkin fall recipes that I LOVE. However, I hosted an impromptu brunch yesterday for some of my favorite people and little people. Needless to say it took some of my steam. So I wanted to share an
easy pumpkin lasagna. It is creamy, sweet, and savory (you must like pumpkin though!). This is a great fall side dish, or as the main event with a nice simple green salad. The pumkin aroma fills the kitchen as it bakes..you must try.
Pumpkin Lasagna
- 1 pound 5 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced or shredded
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup Parmesan
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in a few pieces
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4-6 Swiss chard leaves, rough chop
- 2 3/4 cups pumpkin puree**
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- pinch pepper
- 1 (1 lb) box lasagna sheets
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Shred 12 ounces of mozzarella and mix with the ricotta in a large bowl. Set aside. In a 2 quart pot, melt butter on low heat. Add garlic and brown lightly. Stir in pumpkin, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg (only add cinnamon and nutmeg if you are using store puree), salt and pepper. Stir until it’s all warm. Remove from heat and set aside. Smear a thin layer of pumpkin mixture on the bottom of a 9×13 glass baking dish. Place a splash about 1/4 cup heavy cream on top. Sprinkle with nutmeg. Place 3 lasagna sheets across. Smooth a layer of pumpkin, followed by Swiss chard, and then ricotta/mozzarella on. Repeat until you have 4 layers of pasta, pumpkin, chard, cheese, splash of cream. (You will use 12 lasagna sheets in total. Slice the remaining 9 ounces of mozzarella. Arrange in one layer on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
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| pumkin anticipation... |
***I made my own pumkin puree by putting an entire sugar pumkin in the oven at 325 degrees F for 1 hour. After cooling, remove seeds and skin. Place in a food processor with 8oz cream cheese, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. The cream cheese gives is a smooth creamy texture. My 3 year old loves to east the straight puree and calls it "pumkin pie"!
Here is what we had for brunch and why I slacked off on my great plans :) :
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| Herb asparagus and tomato salad |
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| Figs with goat cheese and honey balsalmic |
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| Cinnamon pecan pull-apart bread |
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| Potato and basil fritatta with maple ham and bacon |
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| Brunch was delicious and we sipped on Lillet and passion fruit mimosas... |
Thanks to everyone for the great fall recipes thus far, I cant wait to try
Estelle's soup and make sure to check out
look linger love tomorrow for another delicious dish! And find out who won the pumkin cookoff
here.
xoxoxo
d
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