Celebrate National Lasagna Day on July 29th with a gourmet twist—Pumpkin and Speck Lasagne. This luxurious dish combines the earthy sweetness of pumpkin with the savoury richness of speck, creating a harmonious balance of flavours that is sure to impress. The lasagna layers alternate between vibrant green spinach pasta and traditional pasta, all enveloped in a creamy béchamel sauce and topped with melted scamorza cheese. Perfect for a special dinner, this recipe serves 4 and brings together a variety of textures and tastes in every bite.
Pumpkin and Speck Lasagne
Type: Main Course
Cook: A few minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
Pasta:
- 250 g type 00 flour
- 250 g durum wheat semolina
- 5 eggs
- spinach leaves, to taste
- rock salt, to taste
Béchamel:
- 1 l whole milk
- 120 g type 0 flour
- 60 g butter
- pinch salt
- nutmeg
- 100 g Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
Filling:
- 230 g speck, diced
- 500 g pumpkin
- 2-3 amaretti (almond macaroons)
- mostarda liquid, to taste
- 60 g ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 smoked scamorza cheese
- butter, to taste
- breadcrumbs
- salt
- nutmeg, to taste
- extra-virgin olive oil
- Parmigiano Reggiano, grates, to taste
Directions:
- Filling: Cut the pumpkin into large pieces, remove peel and seeds, steam for about half an hour, until soft. Alternatively, you can roast the pumpkin at 180°C for the same amount of time.
- Once cooked, mash the pumpkin in a bowl, add a large handful of Parmigiano Reggiano, egg, salt, crushed amaretti, two tablespoons of Mostarda liquid, nutmeg and ricotta cheese.
- Taste and add salt if needed.
- Pasta: Mix together flour and semolina, make a well and add eggs, a pinch of salt and a little water if needed. Start by whisking the ingredients with a fork, then gradually mix in the flour with your hands. Divide the dough into two parts, add a handful of chopped raw spinach to one of the parts and knead well. Shape into two balls, spread the surface with a little oil to prevent drying.
- Take a piece of pasta, put through the pasta machine, starting from the thickest setting and gradually making the pasta thinner.
- Blanch the lasagne sheets in salted boiling water and then plunge them in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process. Lastly, place the pasta sheets on a clean towel to dry.
- Béchamel: Heat the milk. In the meantime, melt the butter in a pot and then gradually add the flour using a sifter. Use a whisk to mix well and prevent lumps from forming.
- Then add the milk gradually and keep mixing until the béchamel is thick. Remove from heat, mix in a pinch of nutmeg, salt and grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
- Preparation: Once the filling, pasta and béchamel are ready, melt the butter in a bain marie (or in a small pan on a very low heat to make sure it does not overheat).
- Grease an oven dish with a little oil and dust with breadcrumbs. Arrange a layer of pasta, a layer of filling, plenty Parmigiano Reggiano, melted butter, scamorza cheese and béchamel. Keep making layers, alternating the two different pasta colours (you should have a minimum of 2 layers and a maximum of 4). Top with a layer of béchamel, Parmigiano Reggiano and speck.
- Leave to rest for 10 minutes, then put in the oven for 30-40 minutes at 200°C.
NOTE: If your pumpkin tastes very sweet, you may decide to add no mostarda liquid and amaretti. If you prefer, diced speck can be added to each of the layers.
