Butternut Squash and Highcross Lasagne

This weather is crazy. Just when you think it’s time to live on watermelon and salad in your flipflops, hailstones the size of conkers start smashing up your greenhouse. It’s important to be prepared for all eventualities and this includes having comfort food and a slanket to hand. This lasagne is easy to make, fools small children into eating vegetables and is perfect for sub-zero summer afternoons. I used Highcross from Wildes Cheese which is matured in a vat of salt, water and lemon. It’s salty and crumbly, a bit like Feta and its sharpness goes well against the sweet squash.

Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded and cut into slices

0.5 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp sea salt

1 clove garlic

Freshly ground pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

Splash of red wine

2 tins of chopped tomatoes

Oregano and seasoning

¾ pint of milk

50ml double cream

25g butter

25g plain flour flour

100g Highcross cheese, grated or crumbled (or Feta if you can’t get hold of it)

8 sheets of lasagne

Preheat the oven to 200c/180 fan-assisted/gas mark 6. Bash the coriander, fennel, oregano and salt with a mortar and pestle until you have a fine-ish powder. Mix through the pepper and then add the garlic and bash that up too. Add the olive oil.

Coat the squash slices in the oily spicy mixture, place them on a baking tray and cook for about 20 minutes or until the squash is soft.

Fry the onion and garlic in a little olive oil until they are soft and then add the tinned tomatoes, wine and oregano. Simmer until you have a thick sauce. Season to taste.

Make a white sauce by melting the butter in a pan and then stirring through the flour to make a thick paste. Gradually add the milk, stirring all the time and whisking out any lumps that may appear. Finally add the cream and half the cheese and stir until the cheese has melted.

In a greased baking dish, layer up the lasagne, starting with some white sauce and a sprinkle of cheese, and then sandwiching the squash between pasta sheets and dollops of tomato and white sauces, and the rest of the cheese.

Finally finish with a layer of white creamy sauce and a sprinkle of cheese before baking it in the oven for about 35 minutes.

Put on slanket. Pour white wine. Enjoy.