Like a Taylor Swift Song...

I've never believed in keeping recipes secret.  I know there are some of you out there who guard them with your life.  To the grave.  Maybe it's your Mom's favorite cookie recipe, or Grandma's secret to mile-high soufflé.   I've heard people gloat under their breath that if they do share a carefully guarded recipe, they purposely leave out the one ingredient that really makes it sing.  Oops!  Such passive aggressiveness has no place in the world of food - or at least I think so. 

Be that as it may...

I encountered just such a person several years back, and like a Taylor Swift song, I'll never reveal the person's identity.  What I can tell you though, is he arrived at a potluck party with the one dish there that blew my mind.   "It's pastalone," he said.  "It looks delicious.  What is it?" I asked curiously.  "Puerto Rican lasagna," he explained.   I had no idea there was such a thing, but he had me at "Meat filling and cheese, layered with fried plantains."  I was the first person to go in for his dish.   It was awesome.   I don't remember anything else that lined the buffet table that night, or even what I brought to the party, but I couldn't get the pastalone out of my head.  With my mouth still full, I asked him for the recipe.  And just like that...

He shut me down. 

He eyed me as if I was asking for his social security number.  "This is my Nana's recipe," he said flatly.  "I don't give it out." 

Oh. Okay.

I suddenly stopped shoveling the pastalone into my mouth and looked down at the few remaining bites on my paper Dixie plate.  Like a CSI agent I started sifting through the evidence.  I had to figure out what was in this dish.  And so I did.  I pushed through it with my fork, inspecting each ingredient that I could see; the rest was reliant on my sense of taste.  Obsessive?  Sure, but I wasn't about to let this dish slip through my fingers.  I had to have it. 

Meanwhile, back in my home kitchen...

I reconstructed the recipe as best I could.  Surprisingly, I came pretty close with my first attempt.  One more pass and I was confident I had recreated Nana's recipe, maybe even improved on it a bit. 

And now...

When I go to a potluck, this is the dish I bring.  And when I go to a potluck, this is the recipe I share.

Pastalone 

(My version of Puerto Rican lasagna)

Serves 8

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ large onion, chopped

½ green bell pepper, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 1/3 pound ground sirloin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

½ cup green olives, pitted and chopped

1/3 cup golden raisins

Vegetable oil (to fry plantains)

4 large ripe plantains

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature, for buttering dish

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

6 large eggs beaten

In a medium skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté onions, peppers and bay leaf until onions are translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more. Add the ground sirloin, oregano and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 6 minutes; drain. Stir in the olives and raisins. Set meat mixture aside.

In a heavy bottom skillet heat enough vegetable oil to make a ¼-inch depth over medium high heat. Peel and slice the plantains lengthwise into 1/4–inch strips (about 3 per plantain) and fry until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Allow to drain on paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To assemble the pastalone: butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking dish and lay the plantains in a single layer along the bottom, cutting to fit if necessary. Sprinkle one cup of the cheese over the plantains and layer the meat mixture over the top. Sprinkle the remaining cup of cheese over the meat and top with another layer of plantains. Whisk the eggs and pour slowly over the pastalone allowing them to seep into the meat mixture.  

Bake uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes until eggs are set and plantains are tender. Allow the pastalone to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

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I Heart Butternut Squash

I've had a long love affair with Butternut squash.  There's something about it's almost psychedelic orange hue that signifies the arrival of autumn.  I love it mashed.  I love it roasted with brown sugar and butter.  I love it in a creamy risotto.  I love it in a soup.  Yikes!  I'm starting to sound like Dr. Seuss. 

Only recently have I tried Butternut squash in a lasagna!  Lasagna is another of my great loves, but the typical meat-laden version can be a bit heavy.  What I love about this version is that it has an incredible lightness to it.  Not light in calories, mind you, but light and airy in texture.  The pureed squash marries perfectly with the tangy goat cheese and together they make four creamy layers cradled between five layers of delicate, fresh pasta.  

Fresh pasta is key!  I'm not suggesting you make your own.  Even I don't have the patience for that, but it can be bought.  I found these lasagna sheets at Whole Foods.  They were surprisingly inexpensive and they are a game changer.  This dish also freezes well, so if you're making one, you might as well make two and tuck the other one away for later.  If you're anything like me, you'll take comfort in knowing that your love affair with Butternut squash is never more than a quick thaw away.    

Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagna with Goat Cheese, 

Sage & Crispy Breadcrumbs

 (Adapted from Fine Cooking)

Serves 6 to 8

1 large butternut squash (about 3 pounds), halved lengthwise and seeded

4 medium cloves garlic, unpeeled

2 sprigs fresh thyme plus 2 teaspoons chopped leaves

Extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

2 sprigs fresh sage plus 1 teaspoon chopped leaves

¼ cup all-purpose flour

3 cups whole milk

8 ounces crumbled goat cheese

1 cup finely grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

¼ cup coarse panko breadcrumbs

2 (11 ounce) packages fresh lasagna sheets

Heat the oven to 425°.

Place the squash cut side up on a large sheet pan. Place 2 garlic cloves and 1 sprig of thyme in each cavity. Drizzle squash with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until the squash is browned in spots and very tender when pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. 

Discard the thyme sprigs. Peel the garlic and place in the bowl of a food processor. Scoop the flesh of the squash from the skins and add it to the garlic, process in batches until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Reduce the oven to 350°.

Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the sage sprigs and cook until the butter is fragrant. Add the flour and whisk until smooth and golden, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in the milk and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes. Remove the sage sprigs and stir in the goat cheese, ½ cup of the Parmesan cheese, nutmeg, 1½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Set aside 1½ cups of the cheese sauce and mix the rest into the mashed squash.

Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a small skillet over medium heat. In a small bowl, mix the breadcrumbs, chopped sage, chopped thyme, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the melted butter and toss to combine. 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season generously with salt. Add the lasagna sheets and cook until al dente, about 2 minutes. Remember, fresh pasta cooks much faster than dried. Drain and rinse under cold water to cool; pat pasta dry.

Spread ½ cup of the reserved cheese sauce over the bottom of a 9x13x3-inch baking dish. Cover the sauce with a slightly overlapping layer of cooked pasta sheets, cutting them as needed to fill any gaps. Spread 1 cup of the squash mixture evenly over the pasta. Add another layer of pasta and repeat the layers as instructed above, to make a total of 4 squash layers and 5 pasta layers. Spread the remaining 1 cup cheese sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture and the remaining ½ cup Parmesan cheese.

Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the top is browned and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Make Ahead Tips:

You can make the roasted squash mixture up to 1 day ahead of assembling the lasagna.

You can assemble the lasagna up to 2 days ahead of baking it. Tightly wrap the baking dish in plastic and refrigerate it. Let the lasagna come to room temperature before baking.

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