Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna

Living with Celiac Disease and IBS, I’m always having to adapt and change recipes so that I can eat them without any symptoms. As a Dietitian it can be pretty easy for me to do, but for some people it isn’t. This is definitely something I have helped clients in the past with. You can also modify a recipe to make it a little healthier too. An example would be to choose a lower fat cheese product instead of the full fat version. Or by adding more vegetables than what the recipe calls for.
This recipe is the perfect example. You can find the original recipe at www.juliasalbum.com, but I modified it so that it would be gluten free and IBS friendly for me. To make it GF, I substitute the noodles for GF Brown Rice Noodles. And to make it low FODMAP for me, I removed the garlic (I’m lucky to only have a mild lactose intolerance).  I added a ground meat, as I wanted to boost it with some protein too! A bonus too with this recipe is that it shows you just another way to use winter squash; as a sauce! This would be a great option for a mac and cheese sauce!! YUM!
Here’s my adapted recipe!
Butternut Squash Chicken Spinach Lasagna
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes                  Serves: 8
Butternut Squash Filling
3 cups butternut squash puree (1 medium squash – I made it by boiling the squash then mashing)
1 cup ricotta cheese (low fat)
½ cup milk (unsweetened almond/soy/coconut milk)
¼ + 1/8 tsp salt
¼ tsp nutmeg (a little goes a long way)
 
Chicken and Spinach Filling
1 pound ground chicken (you could also use turkey or beef)
1 cup cooked spinach (10 oz uncooked or 1 large bag raw)
1 cup ricotta cheese (low fat)
1 cup Mozzarella cheese (part skim)
¼ tsp salt and pepper to taste
 
Other Ingredients
10 oz Lasagna Noodles (Gluten Free Brown Rice)
1 and ½ cups Mozzarella cheese (part skim)
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Italian Seasoning
Paprika
Basil
 
Directions:
1 – Preheat oven to 375°F
2 – Combine the puree butternut squash with the ricotta cheese, milk, salt and nutmeg. Mix well and taste to see if more salt is needed.
3 – Cook the ground chicken with spinach and drain any excess liquid. Combine the ricotta, mozzarella, salt and pepper. Mix and taste to see if more salt/pepper need to be added.
4 – Assemble! Prepare a medium to large baking dish. Grease lightly with olive oil spray. Spread 1/3 of the squash puree. Sprinkle lightly with the mozzarella cheese. Top with one layer of noodles (make sure to not overlap).
5 – Spread ½ chicken and spinach filling over noodles.  Top with a sprinkling of the mozzarella cheese and another layer of noodles.
6 – Spread another 1/3 portion of the squash puree. Top with a sprinkling of the mozzarella cheese and one more layer of noodles.
7 – Spread the last part of the chicken and spinach filling over the noodles and top with some mozzarella cheese again. Finish with the last layer of noodles.
8 – Finally, spread the last 1/3 of the squash puree and top with the remainder of the mozzarella cheese and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, the Italian seasoning, paprika and basil.
9 – Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.
 
What are some of your favourite recipe modifications?