White Sauce Lasagna with Sweet Potato, Basil and Tarragon

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Jul 22, July
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(1)

One of the most loved foods around the world and the ultimate comfort food = homemade lasagna!

Lasagna is one of those meals that brings people together, brings comfort during hard times, fills bellies, and always brings a smile on the first bite.

Typically I would say lasagna is a cozy, cold weather meal (which it is), but I have also fallen in love with it on cool, rainy summer days too. The weather we are having in Southern Ontario this year is strange for July. It has been cool (like cool enough to wear pants and a hoodie!) and we have had more days of rain than days of sun. So with this confusing weather, I needed a dish to keep me warm and happy. Of course lasagna was my go-to!

This dish was first inspired by the bounty of fresh herbs and greens flourishing in the garden right now. We have sweet basil, lemon basil, purple basil, tarragon, dill, cilantro, parsley, kale, chard, sorrel... the list goes on. A little mix of everything green!

I knew I wanted to incorporate the beautiful aromatics into the lasagna, but wasn't really feeling tomato sauce (I only like tomato sauce in small amounts). What's even better than a tomato sauce lasagna? White sauce lasagna! Creamier, dreamier and in my opinion, way tastier! There's nothing like the combination of cream, garlic and fresh herbs.

Overview: How to Make White Sauce Lasagna

  1. Caramelize the sweet potato and brown the onions.
  2. Combine the sweet potato and onions with garlic, sunflower seeds, basil, tarragon, greens and seasoning.
  3. Fold in the ricotta and heavy cream.
  4. Layer cooked lasagna noodles with the sweet potato mixture and cheese.
  5. Bake until golden and bubbling. Enjoy!

Details

Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Total Time
60 minutes
Servings: 6

The Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 cups coarsely chopped sweet potato (about 1 large sweet potato)
  • 1/2 cup white onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
  • 1 cup fresh basil
  • 1/4 cup fresh tarragon
  • 2 cups greens, chopped- I used a mix of baby kale and Swiss chard, but you could also try spinach or collards
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp + 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp + 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 box (340g) lasagna noodles - I used gluten-free brown rice noodles
  • 2 cups full-fat ricotta
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 3 1/2 cups extra old white cheddar, grated
  • 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Directions

  1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Add chopped sweet potato and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook until browned and caramelized on the edges. The potato pieces do not have to be fully cooked through, this step is just to add extra flavour. Set sweet potato aside.
  2. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat in the same skillet. Add onion and cook until soft and golden, about 5 minutes.
  3. Using a food processor (or blender), combine the sweet potato, onion, garlic, sunflower seeds, basil, tarragon, greens, remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and black pepper. I like to pulse the ingredients until smooth and combined, but with some small chunks still remaining for texture.
  4. Pour sweet potato mixture into a bowl and fold in the ricotta and heavy cream until smooth.
  5. Preheat oven to 375 F and grease a 9 by 13-inch casserole dish.
  6. Cook lasagna noodles per directions on package. You must still cook oven-ready noodles for this recipe because this sauce does not have a high enough water content to cook the noodles (and nobody wants lasagna with hard, undercooked noodles). But, you can cook the noodles 2-3 minutes less than the suggested cooking time.
  7. Reserve one cup of the pasta water (the water you cooked the lasagna noodles in).
  8. Spread about half a cup of the sweet potato mix across the bottom of the casserole dish.
  9. Place 4 noodles on top and then layer with one third of the sweet potato mix. Sprinkle with a scant cup of the cheddar. Repeat this step two more times so you have three layers of the sweet potato mix and are left with noodles on top.
  10. Now, I like to ladle over 1/3- 1/2 cup of the pasta water to ensure the noodles cook, especially the corners and edges. You don't want the dish to be flooded, just a bit of water to ensure the noodles cook throughout.
  11. Evenly sprinkle over any remaining cheddar and the parmesan cheese.
  12. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until heated through and the cheese is bubbling around the edges. Allow to cool 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

 

Don't forget to tag @evolvingautumn on Instagram to show me your beautiful creation!

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Hi, I'm Autumn

I'm Autumn, the recipe developer, photographer, and content creator behind Evolving Autumn. The recipes you'll find here are inspired by my passion to eat locally, sustainably and live wholesomely. My recipes are focused on seasonal, whole food ingredients with a mix of sweet, savoury, entrées, desserts and more.

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