Pumpkin lasagna with bacon
in Sicilian:
Lasagni ca’ cucuzza e pancetta
Pumpkin lasagna with bacon is a delicious alternative to classic lasagna made with minced meat and tomato sauce. The main ingredients, pumpkin and bacon, are perfectly complemented by a creamy béchamel sauce and flavourful smoked provola. This combination delivers a rich, intense taste and a wonderfully soft, delicate texture, making every bite a true pleasure.
If you don’t have smoked provola on hand, you can easily use butter cheese instead. It melts just as well and adds a pleasantly rich flavour.
This pumpkin lasagna is simple to prepare and also suitable for beginners, especially when using ready-made béchamel sauce. The pumpkin is steamed and blended with a little béchamel, while spring onions and bacon are briefly sautéed and then mixed with the pumpkin purée.
For the pumpkin lasagna with bacon, the ingredients are layered in a baking dish, alternating with lasagna sheets and cheese. In the oven, the lasagna bakes until golden brown and fragrant – perfect for a cosy lunch or a festive family meal.
Why fresh lasagna sheets are the best choice
For this recipe, we recommend using fresh lasagna sheets. They contain more moisture, are easier to work with, and develop a silky texture after baking. Dried lasagna sheets are firmer and more brittle and may require brief pre-cooking.
Using fresh pasta results in an especially moist and creamy pumpkin lasagna that impresses both in flavour and texture.
This simple pumpkin and bacon lasagna recipe is perfect for the autumn and winter seasons and stands out thanks to its quick preparation, well-balanced flavours, and the delicious combination of creamy cheese, savoury bacon, and sweet pumpkin.
Pumpkin lasagna with bacon - eatlovesicily.com
- Prep Time20 min
- Cook Time20 min
- Total Time40 min
- Yield4-6 plates
- Serving Size4-6 servings
Ingredients
- 300 g fresh lasagna sheets
- 500 g pumpkin
- 250 g bacon, diced
- 250 g smoked provola (or butter cheese)
- 2–3 spring onions
- 500 ml béchamel sauce
- 4–5 tbsp olive oil
- white wine, as needed
- salt, as needed
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First, prepare the pumpkin for our pumpkin lasagna with bacon. To do this, remove the seeds and peel the pumpkin. Then cut it into small cubes.
Add a little olive oil to a pot and gently steam the pumpkin until soft and tender. While steaming, add a small pinch of salt and place the lid slightly ajar on the pot. Once done, set the pot aside.
Tip: The smaller the cubes, the faster the pumpkin pieces will steam.
Next, slice the spring onions into fine rings. Sauté them in a pan with 2 tbsp of olive oil, then add the diced bacon and fry it as well. Again, add a small pinch of salt.
Deglaze with a splash of white wine and let everything simmer gently until only a small amount of liquid remains in the pan. Then set the pan aside as well, as we will need it later for preparing the pumpkin lasagna with bacon.
Now the prepared ingredients are blended. First, finely purée the steamed pumpkin with about 4–5 tablespoons of béchamel sauce. Then add the bacon and spring onions to the pot and blend again until you obtain a fairly smooth, homogeneous mixture.
Now you can preheat the oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat). Also cut the cheese into small cubes.
Now you can start layering the pumpkin lasagna with bacon in a baking dish. Begin with a thin layer of the pumpkin purée.
Next comes a layer of lasagna sheets, followed by alternating layers of pumpkin purée, cheese cubes, and béchamel sauce. Spread each layer well all the way to the edges and into the corners, pressing it down slightly to prevent it from drying out.
Then add another layer of lasagna sheets, followed again by pumpkin, cheese, and sauce. The quantities given here typically yield about 3 layers, though this may vary depending on the size of the baking dish.
The final top layer should be béchamel sauce.
In the preheated oven, the pumpkin lasagna with bacon needs about 20 minutes on the middle rack. It is ready when the surface is golden brown. Then remove it from the oven and serve immediately. Buon appetito.
Tip: If you like to finish your meal with a small dessert, such as a piece of Modica chocolate, be sure to visit our online shop. The perfect ending to a great meal!
