The calendar tells me it’s fall, even if the thermometer doesn’t. In Florida, especially as far south as we are, the seasonal changes are late and subtle. The humidity has dropped, at least for a few days, and the temperature was below 70 degrees when we went out for a walk this morning. (It was 69, but that’s still below 70 and something we haven’t experienced for several months). Our frangipani is shedding its leaves, and, in a few weeks, cypress needles will start falling. No crisp, cool days, autumn colors, or hayrides, but yes, it is fall.
This time of year, I start to get the urge to bake, and I begin to crave flavors that I associate with fall. One of those flavors is pumpkin, and I tried a delicious new recipe that included it a couple nights ago. I’ll get to the baking soon.
Pumpkin lasagna skillet is a relatively new recipe from Gina Homolka, featured in one of her recent Skinnytaste newsletters. Ken and I thought the ingredients sounded like an interesting combination, and put it on this week’s menu. The result was a dish that really tasted like fall.
The dish involves ground turkey, a can of pumpkin puree, broken lasagna noodles, three cheeses, and some typically autumnal seasonings. It’s another one-pot pasta dish, with the noodles cooking in the sauce. As you may surmise from the title, it’s cooked primarily on the stovetop, although it does finish with a couple minutes under the broiler; you need to use an ovenproof skillet. I used my enameled cast iron one. There’s not a lot of prep work to do ahead of time. I did discover that it took more force than I’d expected to break the lasagna noodles, but it was actually fun. Total time was probably about 45 minutes, maybe a bit more.
Pumpkin Lasagna Skillet
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound 93% ground turkey
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 2 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
- 3 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 8 ounces lasagna noodles, broken into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
- 3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- Chopped parsley, for garnish
Heat a 12-inch oven safe skillet with a fitted lid over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and heat until shimmering.
Add the ground turkey, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and the red pepper flakes to the skillet. Cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, 5-7 minutes. Add the sage and thyme and stir to combine. Cook until fragrant, 1 minute.
Add the pumpkin puree, broth, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt to the skillet, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer. Add the pasta to the skillet, stir to combine, and spread into an even layer; make sure noodles are submerged in the liquid.
Reduce the heat to medium, simmer covered, stirring occasionally, being sure that the noodles don’t stick to each other or to the bottom of the pan. Cook until pasta is tender, about 18-20 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in ricotta and 2 tablespoons of the parmesan. Top with mozzarella and the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese.
Transfer to the broiler on the second rack from the top and broil until the cheese is melted and slightly browned on top, 3-4 minutes. Garnish with parsley and serve.
This makes 4 generous servings. There’s no parsley on ours because I’d used up all I had when I made the steak 😄
We both really enjoyed this. It tastes very rich and I was expecting a higher calorie count. I haven’t made a traditional lasagna in, probably, decades, and now there’s no reason to. It combines a lot of good elements into something great, and I want to make this again. Who wants to come to dinner?
Happy eating!
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