Roasted pumpkin, ricotta, spinach & walnut cannelloni

A rich and creamy cannelloni dish, filled with spinach, ricotta and pumpkin. Served with a side of greens and you have the perfect autumn dinner!

Serves 4-5

Prep time 20 mins / Cooking time 1hour 20 mins

 

Cannelloni Filling:

700g crown pumpkin, chopped into 3cm chunks

¼ cup sage, chopped

220g Spinach

250g ricotta

¼ cup grated parmesan

50g roasted walnuts, roughly chopped

pinch of nutmeg

1 clove garlic crushed

16 Cannelloni tubes

 

Sauce:

2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

1 onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic crushed

 

To finish:

½ cup grated parmesan, extra

20g extra roasted walnuts, roughly chopped, extra

20g butter

8 to 10 sage leaves, extra

 

Preheat the oven to 200 fan bake.

Toss the pumpkin chunks with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 25 minutes, then toss with the chopped sage and continue roasting another 10 minutes, or until cooked. Place in a large bowl and mash roughly with a fork. Reduce oven to 180 fan bake.

Place the spinach in another bowl and pour boiling water over. Leave for 5 minutes, then drain and squeeze out all liquid. Roughly chop and mix into the mashed pumpkin along with the ricotta, parmesan, walnuts, garlic and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper.

Fill a piping bag with the mixture and pipe into the cannelloni tubes. Alternatively spoon it in with a teaspoon.

Make the sauce by heating a pan over medium heat with a little oil. Add the diced onion and cook for 10 minutes until softened, then add the garlic and cook another couple of minutes, add the chopped tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Spread ½ the mixture on the base of a large roasting dish, top with the cannelloni tubes in a single layer, then spread the remaining sauce over the top evenly.

Top with the extra walnuts and parmesan cheese, cover with foil, and cook for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and cook another 10-15 minutes. While the cannelloni is cooking heat the butter in a small pan until bubbling, add the extra sage leaves and cook for 1-2 minutes until crispy.

Serve the cannelloni with the crispy sage and sage butter drizzled over the top, with a green salad on the side.