Fall Vegetarian Lasagna 

You can do everything except baking the casserole a day in advance or even prep all the ingredients one day, assemble the next and bake the third. You could even freeze it (unbaked) for later.
This recipe will make one 9×13 casserole or two smaller casseroles: one for now and one for later.
If you’re planning to assemble the recipe in advance, use a bit less sage. In the recipe as written here, the flavors meld together into a harmonious whole very well when the components are assembled, baked ans served immediately. However, if they’re allowed to sit and meld together, the sage starts to creep into the other components and overwhelm the balance of flavors. (This is true if you bake it, then eat the leftovers for lunch too.) Simply using a bit less sage upfront will mitigate that.

5 Tbsp butter, divided
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 large butternut squash, necks only, sliced about 1/16th inch thick (Use a mandoline.)
2 oz flour
1 tsp nutmeg
4 cups milk
2 bunches kale, stems removed and roughly chopped
8 oz swiss cheese, grated
4 oz parmesan cheese, grated
(a bit less than) 1/4 cup sage
(a bit more than) 1/4 cup parsley
breadcrumbs

Prep the vegetables:
Melt 1 Tbsp butter, then saute the onions over medium-low heat until lightly browned all over, approximately 20 minutes. Set aside.

Blanch the squash slices in batches in boiling water for 2 minutes, then immediately plunge into ice water. They’ll be just starting to get tender, but still somewhat crisp. After the squash has cooled, lay it out on towels in a single layer to dry off. Set aside.

Blanch the kale in batches in boiling water for about 1 minute, then immediately plunge into ice water. Drain the kale, then squeeze out the excess water. Mix in the onions, sage and parsley. Add salt to taste. Set aside.

Make béchamel:
Melt the remaining butter in a medium saucepan and stir in the flour to form a roux. Cook, stirring occasionally until the roux is light golden brown. Stir in the nutmeg. Add the milk a bit at a time, stirring until completely mixed each time. Once all the milk is incorporated, bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add about 2/3 of the swiss and parmesan and stir until melted. Add salt to taste. Set aside.

Assemble and bake the lasagna:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a 9×13 casserole, cover the bottom with squash slices. Overlap the slices a bit; it’s better to have overlap than gaps. Spread about half the kale mixture over the squash slices. Spoon enough béchamel over the kale to barely cover. Repeat with layers of squash, kale, béchamel, squash and béchamel. Sprinkle the remaining swiss and parmesan over the top layer of béchamel, then sprinkle breadcrumbs over the cheese.

The layers should go as follows:

• squash
• kale
• béchamel
• squash
• kale
• béchamel
• squash
• béchamel
• cheese
• breadcrumbs

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the casserole is bubbly and the cheese and breadcrumbs are browned. If the casserole gets all bubbly before the top is browned, pop it under the broiler for a minute or two.

Butternut-Pear Soup with Spiced Crème Fraîche 

I used dessert pears for this recipe. They’re small, firm and very sweet pears. I’m sure the recipe would work well with other types of pears, but you’ll probably want to add some brown sugar or honey if you use a less sweet pear.
You could easily substitute onions, or better yet shallots, for the leeks; I just happened to have leeks on hand.

3 whole star anise
6 pods green cardamom
1/4 tsp coriander
1/2 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)
2 tsp honey
2 Tbsp butter
1 small leek (white and light green parts only), chopped
1 butternut squash (about 3 lbs whole), peeled, seeded and cubed
about 1 1/2 lb pears, peeled, cored and cubed
water
salt to taste

Grind the spices together in a spice/coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. If you have large pieces left, either grind it more or sift it to remove the pieces. You should have about 1 Tbsp total once they’re ground.

Mix together 1 tsp spices, honey and crème fraîche. Refridgerate until the rest of the soup is ready.

Brown the butter in a medium saucepan. (Heat over high until it foams up, then the bubbles subside.) Turn the heat down to medium-low, add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are translucent. Add the rest of the spices. (This should be about 2 tsp.) Add the squash and enough water to barely cover the squash. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the pears and simmer an additional 10-15 min, until the pears and squash are both very tender.*

Puree the soup in batches in a blender. Add salt to taste. (Start with about 1 Tbsp and add from there to your taste.) Depending on how sweet your squash and pears are, you might want to add just a bit of brown sugar at this point; I did not, but I was using very sweet pears.

Serve the soup hot with a dollop of the cold crème fraîche in each bowl.

* This timing assumes pretty firm pears. If you’re using softer pears, wait until later to add them.

Winter Squash with Sage Roasted Garlic Brown Butter 

I use salted butter for the brown butter. Depending on how salty your butter is, the brown butter might taste a bit overly salty on its own, but remember that it’s also salting the squash.

Tossing the sage in the butter while it’s still screaming hot basically fries the sage in the butter, dispersing the sage flavor through the butter and crisping the sage all at once.

This pairs wonderfully with simply sauteed pork chops for a full meal. Spoon the brown butter over the pork chops as well.

1 medium to large winter squash
6-7 large leaves sage, chopped
4 cloves roasted garlic, chopped *recipe below
4 Tbsp salted butter

Poke the squash several times with a knife. Be sure the knife reaches all the way in to the center cavity. Microwave the squash whole for 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of the squash and the power of your microwave, until the squash is soft all over. Cut the squash in half. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Scoop the flesh out of the skin and mash the flesh.

Heat the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan until the butter foams up and the foam subsides. Remove the butter from the heat and immediately stir in the sage and garlic.

Serve the squash hot with the brown butter on the side.

*Roasted Garlic: Put a whole, unpeeled head of garlic in the oven at 250 F for about 2 hours.