When we think of fall comfort food, our minds go in two directions: one, toward all things pumpkin, squash, and apple; the other toward cozy cold weather dishes like beef stew, pot pie, and lasagna. But what if the two didn’t have to be separate? Lasagna is indisputably one of our favorite hearty meals to tuck into on a chilly night, but there’s nothing about it that particularly screams fall – until now, that is. That’s because Giada De Laurentiis just shared her recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna, which is basically the fall comfort food fusion of our dreams.
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Her recipe features a few things we love. There’s a sweet and earthy butternut squash puree that gives the dish a pleasant orange hue, and the basil-infused bechamel sauce is so good it would make eating a pile of wood chips a treat. But the really interesting part of the recipe is also one of the most Italian – De Laurentiis adds crumbled amaretti cookies to the butternut squash puree.
Amaretti cookies are an Italian sweet made with almond flour and almond extract, so they give a mildly sweet almond flavor to the dish that melds well with the starchy sweetness of the butternut squash. It’s not too sweet, though – the lasagna is balanced out with salt, pepper, and plenty of mozzarella and grated Parm.
De Laurentiis also adds a pinch of nutmeg to her basil bechamel sauce. While nutmeg is a classic addition to a white sauce, it works especially well in this autumnal recipe.
The end result is a dish that’s creamy, cheesy, warm, and cozy – basically everything we’ve ever wanted in a fall comfort food recipe.
If you’re a pumpkin spice basic you-know-what who also loves Italian food (raising my hand right now!), then this is one recipe you’ve got to try.
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