Pumpkin and Bacon Lasagne
Who doesn’t like lasagne? This month, Elia shares his spin on the world classic (and an Italian favourite) warm, golden lasagne! Layered with freshly sliced pumpkin and bechamel, and topped with chopped bacon and parmesan cheese, this dish has definitely made it onto the list of Birchwood favourites.
Ingredients: Lasagne
- 750g crown prince pumpkin or butternut squash
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 200g bacon steaks (or vegetarian alternative)
- 1 tbsp butter, plus extra for greasing
- Nutmeg
- 6 fresh lasagne sheets
- 100g parmesan – freshly grated
- 1 white onion
- 1 red onion
- 100g celery
Ingredients: Bechamel Sauce
- 500ml full-fat milk
- 6 peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 50g plain flour
- 50g butter
- 1 tbsp nutmeg
Method
- Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Halve the pumpkin or squash, peel, deseed, and slice into 1cm slices. Toss with the oil in a roasting tin, season, then roast until tender and slightly charred at the edges.
- In a saucepan, soften the onion in oil for 5 minutes, then add celery and garlic and cook for an extra minute. Add the pumpkin, then leave to simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir from time to time. After that, add cold water to cover the pumpkin and leave for 30 minutes before blending. You should be left with a thick purée. Season to taste.
- For the béchamel sauce, bring the milk to a boil in a pan with the peppercorns and bay leaf. Set aside for 5 minutes to infuse, then strain the milk into another pan. Add the flour and butter, then gently heat, whisking all the while, until you have a thick, smooth sauce.
- Heat olive oil in a frying pan until hot, add the bacon and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side and bacon steaks for 3 – 4 minutes on each side. Once done, let cool down and chop it into little pieces.
- Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and assemble the lasagne. Butter a large gratin or baking dish, roughly 1.4 litres in capacity. Put a layer of pumpkin in the bottom followed by a layer of bechamel. Lay lasagne sheets on top of this, cutting them to fit if necessary (you don’t want any overlapping). Top with more pumpkin, bechamel, parmesan, chopped bacon and lasagne sheets, and a final layer of béchamel sauce. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake for 40 mins, or until the lasagne is golden and bubbling.
Nutritional information per serving
- 480 KCal
- Fat 30g
- Saturates 12g
- Carbs 40g
- Sugar 15g
- Fibre 2g
- Protein 25g
- Salt 2g
We hope you enjoy!
