Can I Freeze The Pumpkin And Goat's Cheese Lasagne?

Our answer

Nigella's Pumpkin And Goat's Cheese Lasagne (from NIGELLA CHRISTMAS) is a vegetarian lasagne that is quick to assemble once the pumpkin filling has been made. We don't recommend freezing the assembled, unbaked lasagne as the ricotta cheese in the filling does not freeze very well and will separate as it thaws.

The ricotta separating is not such a problem for the baked lasagne, but it is extremely large and would struggle to fit in most freezers. If you do need to freeze it then we suggest tightly wrapping the lasagne, still in its dish, with several layers of food wrap and a layer of foil for up to 3 months. Thaw for 24 hours in the fridge then reheat individual portions as decribed below. We are also worried that reheating a whole baked lasagne until piping hot in the centre will take so long that it could dry out a little and will take almost as long to reheat whole as it would to cook first time around. If you are making the lasagne in advance for a party, we would suggest making and freezing the pumpkin filling in advance then thawing the filling in the fridge overnight before using. You can also prepare the cheese layer a day ahead and store in the fridge. Assemble the lasagne before baking; you could probably do this up to an hour ahead. Leftovers of the cooked lasagne can be frozen in individual portions in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in a microwave until piping hot all of the way through.