Before the autumn gives way to winter, Antonio Amato couldn’t tasting a last recipe with the typical flavors and colors of this season.

The pumpkin is a queen of autumn, colorful, tasty and with less fat, it’s an ingredient with infinite properties.

We have proposed many recipes with pumpkin, but we haven’t resisted the temptation to taste it in a delicious and creamy version: Pumpkin Lasagna.

Our dish is vegetarian but it will be enough to add bacon (cured ham), italian prosciutto or sausage beef to cook an excellent meat lasagna. Mushrooms and turnip tops are also perfect with pumpkin, as are cheeses such as Fontina, Gorgonzola and Taleggio. For a lighter version, you could replace the béchamel sauce (white sauce) with ricotta cheese and, for a vegan dish, cow’s milk with soy milk to make a béchamel that will allow you not to lose creaminess.

Pumpkin Lasagna is a good dish with an incredibile creaminess and softness; it can be prepared for Sunday lunch, a dinner with friends or when you need some color and warmth.

INGREDIENTS FOR CERAMIC BAKING DISH OF 20X30 CM

500 g Antonio Amato Lasagne

1,2 kg of pumpkin

50 g Antonio Amato EVO oil

rosemary to taste

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

40 g Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese

2 garlic cloves

250 g scamorza cheese

INGREDIENTS FOR BECHAMEL SAUCE

500 g whole milk

50 g butter

50 g Antonio Amato flour 00

nutmeg to taste

DIRECTIONS

To prepare Pumpkin Lasagna, start with the preparation of the pumpkin, remuve the peel, the seeds, the internal filaments and cut it into pieces.

Rinse the rosemary, chop up it and fry in a pan with a garlic clove. Let it flavor and add the pumpkin, seasoning with salt and black pepper, and cook it until it is soft. Meanwhile, cut the scamorza cheese into cubes.

For the béchamel sauce (white sauce), start by preparing the roux: melt the butter, add the flour and cook until the mixture come away from the bottom of the pot. Slowly, add the milk and stirring constantly. Cook over low heat, stirring as much as possible until the sauce begins to thicken (for this preparation, the béchamel must taste rather slow). Add salt, nutmeg and half of the cooked pumpkin. Whisk everything until you get a smooth cream.

You will have all the ingredients ready to make Pumpkin Lasagna.

Take the ceramic baking dish of 20x30 cm, spoon 1/2 cup of the pumpkin béchamel sauce in an even layer. Arrange 3 or 4 lasagna pasta in the dish, overlapping them slightly. Spread half of the pumpkin mixture over the pasta in an even layer. Top with half of the scamorza cheese and another layer of lasagna pasta. Repeat the layering with lasagna pasta, pumpkin, scamorza cheese, another layer of pasta and finish with the béchamel sauce and grated Parmigiano Reggiano PDO cheese.

Bake the Pumpkin Lasagna for 30 minutes at 180°, until heated through and slightly firm. Broil about 4 inches from the heat until golden brown and crisp on top, about 4 minutes in grill oven.

Let the lasagna rest for 15 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.

Enjoy!