Pumpkin and sage cannelloni

Serves:

Ingredients

• 600g pumpkin, peeled
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic
• 40g butter
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 1/2 (375ml) cups warm milk
• 300g ricotta
• 2 tsp sage, finely chopped
• 1 packet fresh lasagne sheets
• 2 tbsp parmesan, grated

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C conventional (160°C fan-forced). Chop pumpkin into 3cm cubes. Toss in olive oil then spread on a baking tray in a single layer with the unpeeled garlic cloves. Season well with salt and pepper and bake for 30-40 minutes until tender. Set aside to cool.

Heat a small saucepan over gentle heat and melt butter. Add flour and whisk until smooth, then leave to cook for 1 minute. Add a small amount of milk and whisk. Continue adding milk gradually, whisking continuously, until you have a smooth white sauce. Leave to simmer for 3-4 minutes then set aside.

In a large bowl, use a fork to roughly mash pumpkin with ricotta, sage and the garlic that has been squeezed from its skins. Remove lasagne sheets from the packet and lay them flat. Cut them widthwise to form squares. Place a large spoonful of pumpkin mix at one end and roll up to form a sausage shape. Continue until all of the mixture has been used.

Increase oven temperature to 220°C conventional (200°C fan-forced). Spread a few spoonfuls of the white sauce in the bottom of a medium-sized lasagne dish. Nestle cannelloni tubes in a single layer in the dish, seam-side down, ensuring they are quite close together. Top with the remaining sauce, and sprinkle with grated parmesan. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.

More pasta recipes:

• Chorizo pasta
• Bacon and bean fettucine
• Curtis Stone’s fettucine bolognaise
• Ear pasta with peas and bacon
• Chicken lasagne
• Sage butter ravioli
• Light spaghetti carbonara
• Pork and fennel meatball pasta

Serving Suggestions

Note

• Double the recipe and freeze a second portion for another time.
• For an extra punch of sage flavour, melt 40g of butter in a small frypan with a big handful of sage leaves. Swirl the pan for a minute or two to allow the leaves to crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on absorbent paper. Serve with the cannelloni.
• Recipe by Greer Worsley from the blog Typically Red.