Honeycomb Cannelloni Recipe 475

Steps:

• To make the red sauce Heat oil on medium in a large casserole. Add the bay leaf, garlic and onion. Sauté for a few minutes until onions are tender. Add carrots, mushroom, chickpeas, rosemary, oregano, thyme and basil. Sauté for 5 minutes, mixing constantly with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to low. Add the canned tomatoes, pasta sauce and red wine. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer on low for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure that the sauce doesn't stick to the bottom. After 25 minutes, remove from heat and set aside. Pick out the bay leaf. Discard. To make the white sauce Wash and pat dry spinach leaves. Chop them finely. In a large frying pan, heat oil on medium and add spinach. Toss spinach around for a couple of minutes until leaves start wilting and look glazed. Remove from heat. Season with nutmeg. Place in a large bowl. Add cream, sour cream and parmesan. Add lemon rind, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix well. Set aside. To assemble Preheat oven to 180C. Take a large 23cm wide and at least 12cm deep ovenproof casserole pan. Grease the insides with a light oil spray or melted butter. Add half the red sauce. Stand cannelloni upright in the sauce, making sure the tubes are next to each other and quite snug. Press down gently to make sure they are touching the base of the pan. Spoon in half the white spinach sauce over, around and into the tubes. Sprinkle over some parmesan. Spoon over the remaining red sauce around, into and over the tubes. Repeat with the white spinach sauce. With the palm of your hand, gently push the cannelloni tubes further down into the pan. Top with the remaining parmesan and rosemary sprigs. Cover the pan and rest for at least 30 minutes (this helps to soak up some sauce into the pasta tubes, making them soft). When ready to bake, place in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. Bake covered until browned and cooked on top.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Toss the diced squash on a baking tray with 2 tbsp of the oil. Roast in the oven for 20-25 mins until the squash is tender and browning. Put the bigger chunks in a microwave-proof bowl with about 200ml water. Cover with cling film, pierce a couple of times, and microwave on High for 10-14 mins until really soft. Drain off the water and leave to cool a bit.
• Meanwhile, put the remaining oil in a frying pan with the onions, sage and garlic, and cook gently until softened. Set aside to cool.
• Mash the microwaved squash, or whizz in a food processor, then mix with the ricotta until smooth. Season well and taste - it may need a little sugar to bring out the sweetness of the squash. Stir in the onion mixture and walnuts, then gently stir in the roasted squash, being careful not to break it up. Spoon into a disposable piping bag and snip off the end to a width that will just fit inside one of your cannelloni tubes.
• Whisk the mascarpone with the milk, a generous grating of nutmeg, the Parmesan and plenty of seasoning (especially salt) until smooth. Spread just over half the sauce into a big ovenproof dish.
• Prepare the pasta in small batches (because it's easier to fill the tubes when warm). Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add a few tubes at a time and boil for 2 mins, stirring occasionally so they don't stick. Lift out with a slotted spoon and cool under cold water just until you can handle them. Use scissors to snip each tube in half, pipe the squash filling into each tube and stand upright, snuggled together, in your dish. Keep repeating the process (boiling tubes, halving, then filling), until all the ingredients are used up.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 (if it's not already on). Drizzle the remaining mascarpone sauce all over the pasta tubes, scatter with extra sage leaves, a few more walnuts and some Parmesan. Bake for 30 mins until the top is crisp, the sauce bubbling and pasta softened.