This spinach & pumpkin lasagna is excellent yet unconventional. Taking inspiration from classic Italian cuisine and using ingredients I had on hand, this dish almost created itself.
I like this style of cooking. Just seeing what is in my fridge, what I can use and creating a dish with my cooking instincts & intuition alone. When cooking this way, I often invent dishes that become a staple in my home. This spinach pumpkin lasagna is one of those dishes.
At first I wanted to use the spinach I still had growing in the garden- despite being winter, spinach is a very hardy crop. But it had snowed, so I didn’t really want to go out into the garden and harvest the spinach from under a layer of snow. Brrrrrr, just too cold. So I used the store bought spinach I had in my fridge this time.
I also had some leftover roasted pumpkin from the day before, so I used that instead of roasting a fresh pumpkin.
I am a big believer in using up everything you have and not throwing anything away, (unless it has gone bad of course) especially leftovers. Nothing gets thrown away and everything is used up.
I grew up with this way of thinking. My mother taught it to me, her mother (my grandmother) taught this to her and my grandmother learned because of the war. Everything was used and nothing went to waste. During and the few years after the war, it was almost a sin to throw away anything. So this is instilled in me by a few generations.
Back to the spinach & pumpkin lasagna; you can easily make this dish vegan or gluten-free by switching out the cheese and/or the lasagna sheets. This dish lends it well to adjusting to your own taste. Try, taste and test and make it just how you like!
So let’s get into the kitchen and make this dish!
Spinach & Pumpkin Lasagna
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Knife
- Spatula
- Spoon
- Food processor (fitted with the S blade)
- Lasagna dish / Oven dish
- frying pan or wok
- 1 flat baking tray
Ingredients
- 450 grams Spinach
- 400 grams Roasted pumpkin (Roast the pumpkin at 220 degrees celcius, about 20 minutes, until soft)
- 200 grams (Pecorino) Cheese (Grated)
- 1 Onion
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 1½ tspn Italian seasoning (a dried herb blend which includes oregano, thyme, rosemary, basil, marjoram)
- 250 grams Lasagna sheets (I used fresh)
- splash (Oat) milk
- Salt to taste (I used about ½ tspn total)
Instructions
- If you don't already have roasted pumpkin on hand, roast your pumpkin first. Cut it up, lay it out on a baking tray, and roast at 220 degrees celsius for about 20 minutes, until soft
- Put the roasted pumpkin into the food processor with salt to taste, a splash of (oat) milk and the Italian seasoning. Blend until smooth
- Transfer the pumpkin puree to a bowl or container and add a big handful of grated (pecorino) cheese and stir that through. Set aside
- Cut the onion and garlic into pieces, drizzle some olive oil into a pan or wok and cook until it starts to get a little colour. Put that in the same food processor you just made the pumpkin puree in
- cook the spinach in a frying pan in batches until every leaf has wilted down. Add to the food processor with the onion and garlic, and blend into a puree
- Add salt to taste and a splash of (oat) milk if needed
- Assemble the lasagna by alternating layers of the 2 purees & the lasagna sheets. Create layer after layer until everything is used, ending with a layer of pumpkin puree
- Top that with a layer of (pecorino) cheese and bake in the oven at 200 degrees celsius for about 40 minutes, or according to the instructions of the packet of lasagna sheets you have on hand
- Serve as is or with a fresh salad on the side. Enjoy!
