Roasted Butternut Squash Lasagna

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

For squash and garlic: Lay cubed squash on a baking sheet, and drizzle with a bit of olive oil (only about 1-2 teaspoons). Use your hands to coat the squash with olive oil, then sprinkle with ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Wrap the 6 cloves of garlic in tin foil and drizzle with ½ tsp olive, salt and pepper, place on baking sheet with squash. Roast for 50 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes or so. Remove from oven and sprinkle the squash with the chopped sage. Transfer to a bowl and either mash with a fork or whip them with a mixer. Take the roasted garlic and squeeze the garlic out of if it skins, mash with a fork and combine with the 5 tablespoons of butter. Mix the roasted garlic butter with the squash, making sure the filling is spreadable.

Béchamel: Melt the butter in a medium saucepan, add the flour, and whisk until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the mixture turns golden brown, about 6 to 7 minutes. Add the milk to the butter mixture, 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until the sauce is very smooth. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 seconds longer. Remove from the heat and season with salt and nutmeg. Stir in the mascarpone, ½ cup of mozzarella and the ½ cup of Parmesan, whisking until all the cheese is melted and smooth.

Assembly: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with melted butter or oil, and layer in the following order from the bottom: béchamel (saving about 1 cup béchamel for last topping), pasta, squash filling, pepperonis and sprinkle with a third of the reaming cheese. Repeat, making 3-4 layers of pasta. I like the very top layer to be just the béchamel, cheese, and pepperonis. Then if desired top with 6-8 whole Sage leaves, they with get brown and crispy in the oven. Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the casserole is bubbling. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 20 minutes, slice, and serve.