Pumpkin and spinach lasagna

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 small Hokkaido pumpkin (se), approx. 1 kg
• 400 g leaf spinach, frozen
• 10 lasagna sheets
• 2 shallots
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 1 piece(s) ginger
• ½ organic lemon(s), zest
• 1 handful of raisins
• 350 ml vegetable stock
• 200 ml crème fraîche
• 50 g blue cheese
• some butter
• olive oil
• 1 tbsp wheat flour
• Salt and pepper, black from the mill
• Cayenne pepper
• turmeric
• Ras el Hanout
• nutmeg
• Cinnamon powder
• 1 tsp honey
• 50 g grated cheese, e.g. Emmental

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 15 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 45 minutes

vegetarian and delicious

It’s best to wash the Hokkaido pumpkin the day before, quarter it, and remove the core. Cut it into slightly smaller pieces, place it on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, salt it, and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in a preheated oven at 160-180°C (convection oven) until the pieces are tender (about 40 minutes). Using a hand blender and a knob of butter, puree the pieces with the honey, turmeric, ras el hanout, cayenne pepper, and finely chopped ginger. Season with salt and pepper, and add a little grated nutmeg. Allow to cool and, if necessary, store in the refrigerator overnight. Defrost frozen leaf spinach overnight in the refrigerator. The next day, finely dice the shallots and garlic. Sauté the shallot and garlic in olive oil, add the spinach and raisins, and thaw completely over low heat. Season with cinnamon, salt, and pepper, and remove from the heat. Sauté the remaining diced shallots in butter, mix with 1 tablespoon of flour, sweat briefly, and then gradually deglaze with the hot vegetable stock, stirring well with a whisk. Simmer for about 10 minutes over low heat, then stir in the crème fraîche and blue cheese. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Season to taste with salt, pepper, grated lemon zest, nutmeg, and a little lemon juice, and keep warm. Line the bottom of a buttered casserole dish with lasagna sheets. Spread half of the pumpkin mixture on top and drizzle with some of the sauce. Then more pasta sheets, top with the spinach and some of the sauce, more lasagna sheets, the remaining pumpkin mixture, and a little of the sauce, and finally cover with more pasta sheets. Spread the remaining cheese sauce and grated cheese on top. Bake in the oven at 180°C (top and bottom heat) for about 30 minutes, until the casserole is golden brown.