This fabulous article is so fun to read, I just know the pumkin lasagna will be delightful!  Thanks Roz!

...but I thought that it would be a while before I wanted to eat it again, because I made so many versions in such a short period of time. It's a cold, rainy day here, though, and I find myself wishing I had a nice hot pan of lasagna once more!

"she whips up a few variations -- for vegans and carnivores alike ... "

Where's the vegan version?

Hi. Someone sent out an email saying there was a vegan version, but clearly there isn't one! There's just one that contained vegan sausage as an ingredient. So, sorry about that. I will ask them to check with me in the future, or maybe I will just take to labeling my recipes as Vegan, Veg, or Omni.

I can imagine using silken tofu in place of the ricotta and goat cheese in the pumpkin mixture, but you'd have to resort to using vegan "cheese" on top of the lasagna which, in my experience, doesn't melt that well, but I gave up experimenting with fake cheese a few years ago and perhaps they have come up with something better since then.

I googled vegan + pumpkin lasagna and got a bunch of hits, so I think they may have more and better advice about how to make a vegan pumpkin lasagna than I can offer you. Have a happy Thanksgiving.

I can't wait to try the recipe, but after just reading Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" I am keenly aware this harvest season that pumpkins do not grow in cans!  Did you happen to try any variations with real live pumpkin?

...is because it's so stringy and often the flavor isn't very good. I spent years trying to work with fresh pumpkin and was never happy with the taste or texture of the result. Now I always buy organic canned pumpkin instead and I'm really glad it's available. I've never been disappointed.

I was pleased to read in the November issue of Saveur (at least I think that's where I read it) that the species of pumpkin used for canning has better flavor and texture for eating  and cooking than a lot of the pumpkins that one can buy fresh.

My experience with fresh pumpkins was that we never finished eating whatever I made because it just wasn't very good and we ended up throwing some of it away (which is considered a sin in my family) and I'd rather use delicious canned organic pumpkin than throw fresh pumpkin away.

That said, if you want to use fresh pumpkin, I think it's worth trying. Perhaps you'll have a better experience than I did. Happy Thanksgiving!

Instead of using fresh or canned pumpkin, I recommend using regular winter squash (Butternut, Tahitian, Hubbard, Sweetmeat, Tetsukabuto, etc.).  That will be much tastier.  Thanks!

and it works well in recipes where pumpkin is called for.

I'm assuming that one should cook the sausage before adding it to this recipe.  If so, how?  Does it need to be fully cooked, or will it finish off in the oven?  Or can one throw it in there raw (I think not, but either way, would be nice to know before risking people's lives...).

Thanks for the intriguing recipe.  I'll be trying it with a fresh pumpkin from our CSA, or maybe a Hubbard squash, since that is being advocated in the comments.

OK, so I didn't get any feedback here, but I went ahead and pan fried the sausage before adding it in the lasagna.  It turned out really well.  Even if it was a bit overcooked, it wouldn't be too dry because of the other lasagna ingredients.  And if it were undercooked, it would cook a bit more in the lasagna.

I used plain tomato sauce, but it that part was a bit flat compared with the rest.  I might add a few spices to it next time.  And the Hubbard squash worked well.  Roasted squash at 375 for 45 minutes, then scooped about 15 oz. of flesh out and pureed it.