Little Green Spoon’s Healthy Butternut Squash Lasagne

I’m in love with this recipe! It took me so much time to get right, but each bite is worth every second. Much lighter than your traditional lasagne but every bit as delicious; with thin courgette strips instead of pasta sheets and a gorgeously garlicky spinach cashew cream in place of the bechamel, not to mention the creamy butternut squash filling oozing out in between! It may seem a bit daunting with the different layers, but each is really simple and even easier if you make the butternut squash filling and cashew cream the day before!

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 Courgettes

5 Cherry Tomatoes, Halved

1 Handful of Pine Nuts

For the Spinach Cashew Cream:

2 Cups of Cashews (Soaked Overnight/Min 3 Hours)

1 Cup of Unsweetened Almond Milk

Pinch of Coarse Salt

100g of Spinach

1/2 Teaspoon of Dried Rosemary

1 Clove of Garlic Minced

For the Butternut Squash Filling

1 Butternut Squash

1/2 Cup Almond Milk

1 Clove of Garlic, minced

Pinch Course Salt

Method

Step 1: Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop our the seeds and stringy bits. Place the two halves, skin-side up in a roasting tin and roast at 200’C for 40-50 minutes until the skin has started to brown, and the flesh is soft. Then leave it to cool until it’s cold enough to handle.

Step 2: While that’s cooking, make the cashew cream. Drain the soaked cashews and add them to your food processor. Blitz until smooth, it should come together in a ball. Then add in the nut milk, minced garlic and salt and blitz until you have a smooth, creamy mixture.

Step 3: When the squash is cooled, peel or cut off the skin. Chop it into a few chunks, so you can fit it in your food processor and blitz it until you have a smooth pur?e. Add the garlic, salt and almond milk and blend until you have a creamy mixture.

Step 4: Add about a teaspoon of coconut or olive oil to a pan on medium heat and add one clove of minced garlic and your dried herbs. Let it cook for a minute or two and then add in your spinach. Frequently stir? until all the spinach is wilted.

Step 5: Add the spinach to your cashew cream and mix it together.

Step 6: Slice your courgettes into very thin strips lengthways, if you have a mandolin you can use that.

Step 7: Spoon a layer of the butternut squash filling into your dish. Next add a layer of courgette, you can cut them into smaller pieces to fill gaps if needs be. Then carefully spread on a layer of the cashew cream.

Step 8: Repeat these three layers again and then scatter the cherry tomatoes over the top. Cover it with tinfoil and pop it in the oven at 200’C for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the tinfoil and cook for another 20 minutes uncovered. Finally, scatter with the pine nuts and cook for the last 10 minutes. It should be in the oven for a total of 50 minutes. Take out, serve and enjoy!

This recipe is Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Vegan & Paleo. For more healthy recipes, both sweet and savoury, check out www.thelittlegreenspoon.com and follow Indy on Twitter @littlegspoon and Instagram @thelittlegreenspoon