Sausage, sage & squash lasagne

This recipe is my suggestion to you for Christmas eve. I am not for a moment suggesting you grill and peel and stir away on the night itself. Instead make it this weekend right up to the point of assembly. Then freeze it. You can bake from frozen on Christmas eve, covered with foil and for an extra 40 minutes than the recipe below. I know, I know, there’s no need to thank me.

Okay, if you want to thank me, and you have my book, perhaps you’ll consider leaving me a review? You don’t have to have bought from Amazon to review on there but it really helps with boring things like how much it pops up in folk’s email suggestions.

If this recipe isn’t doing it for you when it comes to Christmas Eve inspiration then take a look on the pinterest board I’ve put together using ideas Facebook likers suggested for the last supper before Father Christmas visits.

FYI: I used a large roasting tin to cook my lasagne in, measuring 26 x 20 x 7cm. You can make this in stages by grilling the sausages the day before as well as roasting the vegetables if it makes life a little easier.

This recipe features in my book, Recipes from a Normal Mum, out now… on Amazon, at Waterstones, WHSmith, The Book Depository and many smaller outlets.

Last December: My slow cooker beef bourguignon pie and Crumble topped mince pies and a very ugly but delicious cranberry & raspberry traybake

Two years ago: Mini Yorkshire pudding canapes and Christmas pudding fizz and Brandy butter icing and Rudolf morsels

Three years ago: Lime meringue pie with chocolate pastry and Christmas scones and Ginger cake with Christmas cottage and Hot chocolate on a stick

Four years ago: Moonuts and Cheese biscuits and Parsnip soup and Inauthentic chicken tagine

Triple S lasagne

Ingredients:

• 12 large, good-quality sausages
• 1/2 butternut squash (about 650g), peeled, deseeded and chopped into 3cm chunks
• 2 large onions, peeled and chopped to 2cm pieces
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
• 100g butter
• 3 sage leaves, finely chopped
• 100g plain flour
• Black pepper, to taste
• 645ml whole or semi-skimmed milk
• 9 lasagne sheets
• 50g parmesan, finely grated

Grill the sausages until browned and cooked through on all sides, this takes about 15 minutes. Leave them to cool then slice lengthways into three long strips.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Put the squash and onion into a roasting tin and drizzle with oil. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes until cooked through and browned, then add the chopped tomatoes and roast for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool a little before mashing a little to break up the squash pieces. Don’t be too thorough though as you don’t want a pureé.

Make the béchamel by melting the butter with the sage leaves in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the flour and pepper and whisk together until a smooth paste forms. Cook the flour off for 1 minute then turn the heat to low and add a little of the milk. Whisk well, then add some more before whisking again and so on, until you’ve added all the milk and the sauce is thick and smooth. Remove from the heat.

Assemble the lasagne by placing half the sausage slices in the bottom of the roasting tray, covering with half of the squash sauce. Add a layer of lasagne (3 sheets) and then half the béchamel sauce. Cover with another layer of lasagne sheets, followed by the rest of the sausages and the remainder of the squash sauce. Lay over the final sheets of lasagne and cover completely with the remaining béchamel. Sprinkle with parmesan and bake for 35–45 minutes or until a knife slips through the pasta easily. Serve with a green salad.

Ideas for using up fresh sage: Use a couple of leaves along with a lemon to stuff a chicken for an aromatic and homely roast. Fry leaves in butter and serve simply over cooked pasta with a little fresh grated cheese for a supper that is ready in minutes. A rustic beany bake is a welcome winter supper, just add a couple of sage leaves to a can of drained cannellini beans, a tin of chopped tomatoes and a few slices of grilled bacon, bake at 180C/gas mark 4 for 40 minutes and serve with crusty bread. 

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