Beef and Pumpkin Lasagna

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the dry lasagna pasta until just tender, about 2 minutes short of the package time. Drain the pasta, rinse with cool water and lay the sheets flat.
3. Meanwhile, heat half the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes, then add three quarters of the garlic and cook 1 minute.
4. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up, until browned and it reaches 160°F (71°C). Stir in the diced tomatoes, oregano, dried basil, red pepper flakes, half the salt and half the black pepper. Simmer 15 minutes until thickened.
5. In a bowl, stir together the pumpkin puree, the remaining olive oil, remaining garlic, thyme, nutmeg, remaining salt and remaining black pepper until smooth.
6. Spread a quarter of the meat sauce in a 9x13-inch baking dish. Layer a third of the pasta sheets, then half the pumpkin mixture, then a quarter of the meat sauce.
7. Repeat with another third of the pasta sheets, the remaining half of the pumpkin mixture and a quarter of the meat sauce. Top with the remaining pasta sheets and the remaining meat sauce.
8. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes, then uncover and bake 10 minutes more until bubbling at the edges.
9. Let the lasagna rest 15 minutes before cutting into 6 pieces.