Sunday, May 10, 2009

Parmesan and Root Vegetable Lasagna

Serves 10

- 6 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 2 1/2 pounds)
- 2 1/4 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato (about 1 pound)
- 2 cups coarsely chopped onion, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Cooking spray
- 4 cups 1% low-fat milk
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 bay leaf
- 1.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/3 cup)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 9 packaged no-boil lasagna noodles
- 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Combine squash, potato, 1 cup chopped onion, and oil in a roasting pan coated with cooking spray, tossing to coat vegetables. Bake at 450° for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring once; set aside.

3. Combine remaining 1 cup onion, milk, nutmeg, cinnamon, and bay leaf in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer. Remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes. Strain milk mixture through a fine sieve over a bowl; discard solids. Return milk mixture to pan. (NOTE: the magazine noted the importance of cleaning the pan well before refilling it with the milk mixture.) Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add flour, salt, and pepper to milk mixture, stirring with a whisk. Cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently with a whisk. Remove from heat; stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

4. Preheat oven to 375°.

5. Spread 1/2 cup milk mixture in bottom of a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over milk mixture; top with half of squash mixture, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and 1 cup milk mixture. Repeat layer with noodles, squash mixture, mozzarella, and milk mixture. Top with remaining 3 noodles. Spread remaining milk mixture over noodles, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Cover with foil coated with cooking spray. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.

-From Cooking Light

Bead Party!



The women of the earth sciences department enjoyed cooking and sampling traditional food while admiring hundreds of beautiful paper beads made by Ugandan women. The fair trade organization, Beads for Life, allows women to earn enough to feed their families. A wonderful afternoon was enjoyed by all
and you can find someone modeling their
carefully-chosen purchases in a hallway near you!