Ingredients
Scale
Sauce:
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 12 ounces Italian sausage links, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 – 28 ounce can fire roasted whole tomatoes
- Sea salt to taste
Noodles:
- 1 large butternut squash, 6 pounds (or 2 small)
Ricotta Mixture:
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, 15 leaves
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Topping:
- 10–12 ounces fresh mozzarella
- Fresh basil for garnish if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF and preheat a large 6-quart skillet (with a lid) over medium high heat. When the pan is hot but no smoking, add the olive oil and sliced (or bulk) Italian sausage.
- Brown the sausage, and while the sausage is browning blend the tomatoes in a blender into a chunky sauce.
- Next add the garlic to the pan and sauté just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the blended tomatoes to the pan and simmer over low heat until the sauce is very thick, about 15 minutes.
- While the sauce simmers, make the butternut noodles by cutting off the bulb end of the squash and reserving it for another use. With the top portion of the squash, cut off the stem and peel the squash. Spiralize it with the 6mm blade for bigger noodles. You should have about 2 1/2 pounds butternut noodles.
- When the sauce is very thick, season to taste with sea salt and pile the butternut noodles into the skillet. Using a pair of tongs do your best to mix them into the sauce a bit. Cover the skillet and simmer over low heat for 10-15 minutes or until the noodles have started to soften. Toss the noodles with a sauce a couple of times during the cooking process.
- While the noodles cook, mix together the ricotta mixture and tear/cut up the fresh mozzarella.
- When the noodles are just tender, turn off the heat and toss the noodles again with the sauce to make sure they’re thoroughly mixed. Dot the top of the noodles with the ricotta mixture and scatter the mozzarella evenly over the surface.
- Bake the lasagna for 15-20 minutes or until the lasagna is browned and bubbling. Serve immediately with fresh basil if desired.
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins