Saturday, May 5, 2012

Butternut squash lasagna with basil cream

I had this dish recently at Jewel in Melville during long island restaurant week and it was so good and I just knew I had to replicate it t home. This was my first attempt and I got it right!

Why is this so amazing??
It is creamy salty and sweet, the texture is so velvety and smooth and this was soooo easy to make!!

What you need:
I package oven ready lasagna noodles
5 cups cooked butternut squash (Stop and Shop sells it frozen)
1/4 cup half and half
3 tbsp smart balance
4 tbsp reduced fat cream cheese
3 cups light shredded Italian cheese
1/3 cup parmasean cheese
2 tbsp olive oil
Onion powder, garlic powder, salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

A disclaimer about all my recipes: I never really measure. These are all close approximations, so you may need to add more half and half or milk, even soy milk.

How to do it:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a food processor combine the butternut squash, smart balance, parmasean cheese, cream cheese, half and half and pulse until it has the desired creamy texture. Add salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder to taste.
In a large casserole dish, add the olive oil and some salt and pepper, then line the bottom with the oven ready lasagna noodles. Spread one third of the butternut squash mixture and a
Cup of shredded cheese, repeate this twice more and place in the oven 30 minutes or until cheese has a slight golden color.

To prepare the basil cream:
Add 1 cup basil leaves, 3 tbsp light cream cheese, 4 tbsp half and half, and half a packet of stevia and cream in a food processor.

To serve:
Let lasagna rest for 10 minutes and cut desired size piece and drizzle sauce around the lasagna to be eaten along with each bite.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!! This is a serious foodgasm!!
5 outta 5 bites!!!

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