I had a friend who was visiting for a few days and I found out that she had stopped eating meat since the last time I saw her. On a whim, I told her that I too would give up meat. If you read my blog, you’ll notice that I’ve always loved cooking/eating meat and there are a considerable number of recipes penned here. So while the decision to do this was initially born out of curiosity to see if I could last a few days, I knew lasting more than a week wasn’t going to be easy. I don’t know how long this will last – a few more weeks? Months perhaps? Forever? I’m not really sure but for the meantime, I’m starting to enjoy the challenge of making tasty and meatless dinners.
This is one of those meatless dishes that I could happily eat everyday. Think layers of creamy pumpkin puree and ricotta in between sheets of homemade pasta – believe me – it’s enough to convert any carnivore.
A little note about the recipe – it’s very simple to put together – unless you’re like me where you want to complicate things and make your own pasta (it’s worth it though) – but if you’re pressed for time, use store bought lasagna sheets. Also, the pumpkin puree is delicious as a side dish too.
“I’m vegetarian!” I told proudly told a work colleague during drinks one day.
“Since when?” he asked.
“Wait a second,” another friend interrupted. “Didn’t you just put that pate in your mouth?” She asked.
“Ahh… actually I still eat chicken… and sesafood.” I clarified.
Vegetarian… almost.
Pumpkin and Ricotta Lasagna with Sage, Hazelnuts and Burnt Butter Sauce
Serves 4
- 1 kilo Pumpkin
- 150 grams unsalted butter plus 50 grams butter
- 1 vanilla bean, scraped
- 400 grams ricotta
- 1 egg
- pinch of nutmeg
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 recipe pasta (see here)
- 100 grams parmesan cheese
- 10 sage leaves
- 20 grams toasted hazelnuts
- To make the pumpkin puree, peel the pumpkin and diced into 2 inch cubes. Heat the 150 grams of butter in a pan and add the pumpkin once the butter is melted. Add the vanilla bean and scraped seeds and cook the pumpkin until soft enough that you can cut it with a spoon, around 20 minutes. Stir the pumpkin once in a while to make sure that the pumpkin doesn’t catch to the bottom of the pan. Once the pumpkin is soft enough, blend or process the pumpkin until smooth. Set aside.
- Mix the ricotta, egg and nutmeg together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside
- Grease a baking pan with some olive oil and lay sheets of cooked pasta to cover the bottom of the pan. Layer a third of the pumpkin puree and top with more of the lasagna sheets.
- Top with a third of the ricotta mixture and the cover again with more lasagna sheets.
- Now add half of the remaining pumpkin puree and cover with the lasagna sheets. Add half of the remaining ricotta and again, more lasagna sheets. Finally, spread the remaining pumpkin puree and on top of this add the rest of the ricotta. Top with parmesan cheese.
- Bake the lasagna in a pre-heated oven at 180c (fan forced) for 30 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown.
- Heat the remaining butter along in a small sauce pan until it goes nutty brown. Add the sage leaves and to crisp them up. Top with the toasted hazelnuts.
On another note, the Council of Italian Restaurants Association (CIRA) has just posted their latest class schedule for June/July/August. If you are interested in attending any of their classes, email cira@cira.com.au or follow @italcira on twitter for more details.
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I was born in a strict vegetarian family and started eating meat at the age of 15. Now I’m 30 and want to go back to vegetarianism but these meat cravings… 🙂
Yum! Thanks for the post. I’ve been vegan for more than three years now and discovering new recipes like yours is such a delight!
Just read this one..i’ll definitely give this one a try. we miss you guys!!
I’ve been vegetarian since the beginning of this year and find that I feel more energized and less sluggish. It’s definately a hard decision, though, I miss that bacon! Keep up the good work (:
Oh my goodness gracious. NO WAY! Pumpkin in Lagsana? That is AWESOME!
No way! Pumpkin in Lagsana? That is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yum I love lasagne and this looks delicious – Will have to give it a shot.
Thanks 🙂
Hunger here…
Looks just gorgeous! I couldn’t be vegetarian, but perhaps if I ate something like this every night, I wouldn’t even notice. Great pictures.
Will definitely be giving this one a try Trissa! Totally agree that homemade pasta makes a huge difference to a meal and there’s nothing better than a warm, cheesy lasagna on a chilly winter’s night! Mmm, I can just taste the sage, hazelnut and butter sauce now! I think you could technically call yourself a ‘pesco-pollo vegetarian’ … instead of an ‘almost vegetarian’ (though that did give me a chuckle).
I try to do at least one vegetarian meal every week that I cook… this will definitely be a meal I try!
lovely lasagna! yeah, i’m not even gonna bother pretending i could be vegetarian, even for a week! 🙂
What a great friend you are to the veggies. And you even go out of your way to organise a Birthday treat when friends are out to dinner!
I’ve found there’s heaps of great vegetarian recipes around – it’s just the occasional hankering for a sausage roll or something that gets me! Love this lasagna, especially the wonderful flavours of sage and burnt butter.
It’s been so long since I’ve visited and am thrilled that I chose this moment to ‘click in’ … this lasagna looks so very delish, Trissa! Good luck with your vegetarian quest … a noble pursuit at which I’d never succeed. I am pledging to come back more often!
Keep up with your wonderful work!
I could never give up meat forever but I do love vegetarian dishes…it’s a strange contradiction but not so strange when you see gorgeous meatless dishes such as this! Love pumpkin!
would love to try this!!! been a while since I had lasagna, and never vegetarian!
beautiful dish as always!
The lasaga looks wonderful.
Almost vegetarian, love it! I am sure you will enjoy your journey. I look forward to following you with your tasty creations. 🙂 I went vegan in the past 4 months and haven’t looked back. 🙂
I love meat. I want this lasagna now.
we’re actually quite the same, I’m trying to quit eating beef and pork but seafood and chicken are just so hard to give up! 🙂
A filipino giving up meat *gasps* Kidding, goodluck with it all. I happily go without meat for a few days for this dish- yurrrm.
looks fantastic trissa i love it ! goodluck with the sort of vegetarian diet :O)
That is simply gorgeous Trish. I love lasagne most the time anyway, but the pumpkin, burnt butter and hazelnuts just make it look and sound sensational!
This looks delicious! It actually couldnt have come at a better time as a friend of mine and her sister are coming over this weekend and have recently turned veggie too. Thanks lovely 🙂
Looks delicious! One of my all time favourites 🙂
Ha, that’s how the Doctor started off turning vego… It took him five years to eat seafood again, and another four years later, he still hasn’t returned to eating chicken or red meat. Be careful what you wish for! 🙂
That being said, pumpkin lasagne is one of our most favourite dishes, so will definitely give this version a whirl 🙂
I have always claimed that I would be vegetarian – vegan almost – if I could still eat bacon. That lasagne looks tremendous.
Miss T x
that looks beautiful Triss!!
You pseudo vego you! I’ve sampled with being a vegetarian but I prefer to eat everything in moderation. Now. let’s talk about this lasagna. Love the pumpkin and all the cheese you used Trissa! The hazelnuts are def a great addition for a little crunch too!
This sounds great! I recently got some Himalayan pink salt and organic peppercorns from Sustainable Sourcing https://secure.sustainablesourcing.com and I’ll have to try them out in this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
It sounds delicious and I’ll have to give it a try.
As a side note, if you eat meat, please don’t call yourself a vegetarian. For many years (though not anymore) I was a vegetarian. A real vegetarian. No animal flesh or animal flesh products of any kind. And people tried to feed me chicken, seafood, etc constantly because people who aren’t actually vegetarians use that word for some reason I’ll never understand.
If you don’t eat red meat, say you don’t eat red meat.
thanks!
Chicken and seafood does not equal vegetarian. Not in my book, anyway. Perhaps your friend is gradually becoming one. 🙂 That’s the way I’d do it….if someone forced me!
One of my favorite recipes from our Junior League cookbook is a butternut squash lasagna. Much like this one….it’s divine.
that is beautiful! and inspriring, and funny. (especially with the pate!)
Hehe. Almost 😉
This sounds completely delicious. Can’t wait to try it! I’m going to pass the recipe along to a friend who I think might like it.
With those ingredients…. This vegetable lasagna even sounds better than the traditional meat lasagna. We shall try it soon….
Wonderful recipe. Vegetarian food is very good.
Love this pasta! I tried it once with just plain boxed pasta and it was superb!
That looks absolutely amazing! I love to make home-made lasagna….I will have to try this. Lovely post, as always. The pictures are beautiful…
Good luck! I tried going vegetarian for 6 months. I missed bacon too much
oh, I love the sunny and orange colours of this lasagne!
Haha sounds like you’re my kind of “vegetarian.” I guess we would technically be called “flexitarian.” I also ate chicken for a while but decided to go back to only eating veggies and seafood. This dish looks so good and you’re right I’d happy eat only vegetarian if it was always as delicious as this. Can’t wait to see what else you come up with!