I found this recipe about a week ago and thought "well, this time of the year is perfect for such a meal, lets go for it!" But what I didn't realize was that the entire recipe made for the vegan lifestyle, so I had to tweak a few things. I am still really with the results though, and the entire recipe is vegetarian for those of you that still consume animal by/products.

(Just so everyone knows, no, I have no problem with people being vegan, as I feel that the lifestyle/diet has brought about some really interesting food substitutes and recipes that I still would really like to try. And almond milk is pretty killer as is)

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Butternut Squash Lasagna

Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled, gutted, and cubed 1inch (the squash we got was about 3.5 lbs and I only used half of the squash for this recipe, the other half is bagged and in the freezer for a later recipe if I find one)
  -drizzle olive oil
  
• pinch sea salt
  
• 2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
  
• 1 1/2 tbsp rubbed sage
  
• 1 package lasagna noodles
  
• cashew bechamel sauce (recipe follows)
  
• 15 to 16 oz monterrey jack cheese, sliced thin

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven at 300*F. Peel, remove seeds/innards, and cut butternut squash into cubes. Arrange in single layer on parchment/wax paper covered baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and nutmeg.

2. Roast in oven for about 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. While the squash is roasting and also later cooling, go ahead and make the Cashew Bechamel Sauce that's below this part of the recipe (it saves time and keeps you in the kitchen in case you need to pull out the squash for some reason, god forbid one accidentally burns it XD ).
   
   After the squash has been pulled from the oven, set it to 350*F for the rest of the recipe.

3. Transfer cooled squash cubes to food processor and puree until smooth (I suggest doing this in batches and adding a small amount of water for each time, it helps soften the puree a bit and makes it easier to blend).
   
   Assemble lasagna layers as such: Pour a thin layer of bechamel in 9 x 13 baking dish (we have a pyrex lasagna pan, 9x13). Add noodles. Spread a layer of squash puree, top with cheese, and then sprinkle some of the rubbed sage. Repeat this until just under or level with the edge of the pan (I got in three layers and that pushed it, so don't expect too many).

4. Cover with foil (especially important if using no-boil pasta noodles), place onto a baking pan/half hotel pan (in case it overflows for some horrid reason) and bake at 350*F for 40-45 minutes (I cooked mine about 35 minutes and the pasta wasn't fully cooked, still a bit chewy/doughy so make sure to let it go a few extra minutes to become fully done).

5. Remove from oven and let stand for 10-15 minutes, to set (the lasagna keeps its layering better this way).

Cashew Bechamel Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
  
• 3 cups milk, divided into 1 cup and 2 cups
  
• 4 tablespoons butter, unsalted
  
• 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
  
• 2 teaspoons grated nutmeg
  
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Directions:

1. Covering the cashews up with a paper towel or parchment paper, take a rolling pin and crush the nuts until in a fine crumbly state. Pour 1 cup milk into a high speed blender or food processor and add the crushed cashews, processing until a smooth cashew cream forms (make sure there aren't any left over cashew pieces hiding at the bottom of the blender!).

2. In saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in flour, stirring until smooth. Cook over medium heat until mixture begins to darken in color to a blonde roux (it'll be a tan-ish color).

3. Continue to stir while adding the cashew milk. Cook and stir sparsely until the liquid thickens (Just to make sure that the cream doesn't burn at the bottom). Whisk in remaining the two cups milk, add in the salt and nutmeg, let it sit on the heat a few more minutes to thicken more and then remove from heat. The sauce will continue to thicken into a medium density (?) as it cools so if it is still very liquidy at first, don't worry.

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This dish is creamy, nutty, slightly sweet, and overall delicious. I highly recommend it for anyone that is a fan of squash. I had my first portion and had to go back for seconds because I enjoyed it so much! Talk about comfort food~

This can easily serve about 6 people with decent sized portions and with a side, you've got a meal to boot! It isn't the fastest recipe out there because god knows it takes a bit to peel, gut, and chop a butternut, but hey, I feel it was definitely worth it.

As for those of you that are vegan, the original recipe called for almond milk, soy-free butter, and I'm guessing the cheese was a soy cheese of sort since actual monterrey jack is cow biproduct..idk. BUT, it can easily be made gluten-free and lactose-free also! It's pretty versatile and great, again, I highly suggest trying this.