Butternut Squash Lasagne

Serves: 6 main dish serving or 12 side-dish servings
You can make the squash-sauce up to three days ahead, then assemble and bake.
If you want it to fit into a 9x13 pan, you'll need to one-and-a-half this recipe.

3 pounds butternut squash (about 9 1/2 cups), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dices
3 T. vegetable oil
Coarse kosher salt
4 cups low-fat milk (I used 1%)
2 large sprigs fresh rosemary
1 T. minced garlic
2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
4 T. flour
9 no-boil lasagne sheets (7x3.5"; use fresh ones if you can find them)
1 1/3 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 t. salt

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil.

In a large bowl, toss the diced squash with the oil until well coated. Spread in a single layer on the baking sheets. Roast for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with the coarse salt to taste. Stir the squash and roast for 10 to 15 more minutes, or until tender and beginning to turn golden brown.
While the squash is roasting, heat the milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the rosemary and cook for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a large pitcher or measuring cup.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter with the garlic over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for three minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the warm milk mixture in a steady stream, stirring until smooth. Return the pan to medium-low or low heat and cook about 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Add the squash, salt and pepper to taste, stirring to combine. (At this point, the mix can be refrigerated in a bowl with plastic wrap directly on the surface.)

When ready to bake, reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish (or 9x9 if doing recipe as is).

Pour 1 c. of the squash-sauce mixture in the bottom of the dish (it will not cover completely). Cover with three lasagne sheets, making sure they are not touching each other. Spread half of the remaining sauce over the paste and sprinkle with 1/2 c. Parmesan. Repeat with another layer of pasta, then the remaining sauce, then another 1/2 c. Parmesan, and finally a layer of pasta on top.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream and salt until stiff peaks form. Spread evenly over the top pasta layer, making sure to cover the pasta completely. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Cover tightly with easy-release/no-stick aluminum foil and bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, then bake for 10 more minutes, or until the top is bubbling and golden. Let the lasagne stand five minutes before serving.

Notes: This was really good. I took it to a ward lasagne bake-off and won "Most Creative." But some cautions: it was super labor intensive. It took about three-and-a-half hours, start to finish. A lot of that time was dicing the squash and waiting for my milk sauce to thicken. Not sure what I did wrong there. Everything else I did as written. It tastes just like a sweet pasta, certainly not your normal lasagne. I do recommend it however. Oh yeah, I didn't have the easy-release foil, so I sprayed mine with Pam. It worked okay. And sorry the picture isn't that appetizing!