Roasted Butter Nut Squash & Sweet Potato Lasagna

Growing up at my house, the seasons were always celebrated by the produce and foods that mamma prepared for us.  She loved the fall season; winter squash, chard, pumpkin and potatoes were often her staples.  Mostly, with squash and pumpkin, she prepared a hearty minestra, a thick soup full of whatever she had readily available. Sometimes though, we'd luck out, and she'd make us something extravagant, like torta di zucca con cioccolato (squash and chocolate cake) !!!!!!!!!!

Mamma was a genius in the kitchen, always using what she had at hand, always producing

the most amazing blend of textures and flavors. 

Roasted Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Lasagna 

2 sweet potatoes
1 butter nut squash (2 lbs appx)
3 cups ricotta cheese
3 cups mozzarella Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh minced parsley
1/4 cup minced garlic 2 packages Barilla (no boil lasagna)
Salt
Black pepper
Nutmeg
Roast butternut squash and sweet potatoes in oven at 375° for approximately 45 minutes
Mash sweet potato and butternut squash to paste like consistency
Add salt pepper and nutmeg to taste
Add garlic also to taste
Add parsley Spray 9 x 13 casserole dish with Pam or any equivalent non stick cooking spray
Line bottom of baking pan with lasagna sheets
Add layer of sweet potato & butternut squash mixture
Add layer of Ricotta cheese
Add layer of mozzarella cheese
Repeat lasagna butternut squash mixture ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese layers one more time Bake at 400° with the aluminum foil for 45 minutes
Remove aluminum foil and bake for another 15 minutes
Let sit for 10 minutes
Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese


Written, and produced by Sonia Bertolone-Carrillo, owner & operator of Joe's Italian in Alabaster, Alabama.

Spaghetti ai pomodori crudi

It's hot. Too hot to cook really. So here's a dish that's super quick, requires minimal cooking and will send your taste buds spiraling.

This dish was always a "favorite" at our house in the summer: Spaghetti with an uncooked tomato sauce.

I recommend making this sauce a least an hour ahead of serving it, this will allow the ingredients time to marry and for all the flavors to fully develop.

Start with the best quality tomatoes that you can find, possibly from a farmer's market or from a quality grocer.

Also, some notes this being a simple dish based on raw ingredients; the freshness and quality

of the ingredients used in making the dish are crucial to the success of it. Most importantly, the tomatoes must actually taste like a fresh vine ripened tomato and must not be overly watery. If all you can is the pink, pasty super market variety tomato, do yourself a favor and pick another dish to prepare. Ask your market when local tomatoes are in, and then take advantage of tomatoes grown at the peak of the growing season.

Mamma's Spaghetti ai pomodori crudi

• 1 lb vine ripe tomatoes
• 1 lb Spaghetti ~ at Joe's Italian , we use Barilla
• 2 cloves of fresh garlic ~ freshly chopped
• 2 tbsp of kosher salt for the sauce plus more will be needed for the water used to cook the pasta.
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 12 fresh basil leaves ~ chopped just prior to using

1. slice tomatoes in half and chop into large mixing bowl
2. add olive oil
3. chop basil and add to tomato/olive oil mixture
4. add salt to both sauce and cooking water
5. cook Spaghetti according to package instructions or to your personal liking
6. drain pasta
7. mix together cooked pasta with uncooked tomato/basil sauce
8. enjoy immediately

No grated cheese is wanted or needed for this dish... it will simply overpower the taste of the sauce.

My name is Sonia Bertolone and I am the owner of Joe's Italian in Alabaster, Alabama where you can always fine your little piece of authentic Italian cooking.