Pumpkin Lasagna

Today is the first day of October, the month celebrating the great pumpkin!  Here's a recipe that uses pumpkin in a big way -- as the base for a vegetarian lasagna dish.  This recipe calls for canned pumpkin, but if you're feeling particularly daring (and have extra time on your hands), you can roast a pie pumpkin and puree it for the base.   

Ingredients
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 pound of Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves washed well and chopped
1 cup of spinach (fresh or frozen)
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of pepper
3 tablespoons of sage, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
3 15-oz cans of pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of milk
12 lasagna noodles

Preparation
1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Boil water, cook lasagna noodles until al dente (about 8 minutes). 

2.  Heat a large pan over medium-high heat, add oil and onions, cooking onions until tender and translucent (about 8 minutes).

3.  Add Swiss chard, spinach, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 2 tablespoons of sage, and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg to the pan.  Cook, and stir regularly until greens wilt (about 8 minutes).  Remove from heat.

4.  In a medium bowl, mix two cans of pumpkin, 3/4 cup of heavy cream, 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper, 1 tablespoon of sage, and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg. 

5.  Pour milk into a 9 x 13 pan. 

6.  Layer 4 noodles on top of the milk. 

7.  Spread half of the pumpkin mixture on top of the noodles.

8.  Then layer half of the "greens" on top of pumpkin mix.  Cover with another layer of noodles and repeat with pumpkin and greens.  Layer a final set of noodles on top.

9.  Combine 1 cup of pumpkin and 3/4 cup of cream. 

10.  Spread over top of lasagne noodles and sprinkle with remaining cup of parmesan cheese. 

11.  Cover pan with aluminium foil and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove foil, and bake until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 15 minutes longer.