Meg and Omar. Omar and Meg. Those crazies kids are about to tie the knot on the beach in Florida. As we get closer and closer to the big day, more and more prep work is getting done for the reception dinner. We’re cooking sauces, fillings and raw vegan foods now before we leave, freezing them and then reheating and making the final meals in the McMansion on the day of the big event.

One item we’re making is vegan and vegetarian butternut squash lasagnas.  The difference in the two recipes is in the cream sauce and the cheese used. Our vegan lasagna will be made using Daiya mozzerella cheese, and a coconut milk cream sauce while the vegetarian one will have plain ole cream sauce and cow mozzerella.

You start this dish by cooking 1 large diced onion in a skillet until translucent (about 10 minutes). Then you add 3 pounds of butternut squash (peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces), 2 cloves of garlic (diced), 1 teaspoon of sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon of white ground pepper and stir occasionally until it cooks down (about 15 minutes). When it’s done, remove the mixture from the heat and stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons of sage, 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, and 1 cup of hazelnuts. Let this mixture cool while you prepare the cream sauce.

To start the sauce, chop up 2 garlic cloves into small pieces and cook them on medium low heat in 3 tablespoons of oil, stirring often for 1 minute. Then whisk in 5 tablespoons of flour to create a roux, whisking, for 3 minutes.  Whisk in 5 cups of coconut milk, in a stream, then add a bay leaf. Bring the liquid to a boil, whisking constantly, then reduce the heat, whisking occasionally, and let simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk in 1 teaspoon of sea salt and 1/8 teaspoon of white pepper and remove from heat. Take out that pesky bay leaf and cover your liquid with parchment paper if you’re not using it immediately. If you are ready to assemble your lasagna, continue to step 3.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Layer your lasagna as follows: light sauce on the bottom, layer of noodles, sauce, squash filling, cheese and continue. You want to cover the top layer of noodles completely with sauce and then cover that with cheese and some more sage/parsley. Cover your lasagna with foil and bake for 30 minutes, uncover and then cook for another 10-15 minutes (depending on how bubbly you want your cheese).

If you are vegetarian and not vegan, you can replace the oil in the recipe for butter and use milk instead of coconut milk for the sauce. You can also use vegan butter instead of oil depending on what you have around.