Throwback Thursday, Butternut Squash Cannelloni

the Painted Apron

8 months ago

Butternut Squash is such a wonderful and versatile vegetable

Today’s recipe is simple enough for everyday,

but is also dinner party worthy!

Creamy butternut squash and ricotta is wrapped with fresh spinach

in a fresh pasta sheet and drenched with a brown butter sage sauce~

Yes please!

It is light for a pasta dish and full of flavor

If you have ever tried to cut a fresh butternut squash

you know that it is very difficult

Luckily it is often available already cut up in the produce department,

but here’s a tip if you want to cut it yourself

Pierce the squash in multiple places as you would a baked potato

Please pierce it so it doesn’t explode

Microwave for 5 minutes on high

You should be able to cut into it much more easily now

Slice it in half and remove seeds

Place halves on a parchment paper lined baking sheet

drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper

Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour

Flesh will be soft and easily pierced with a knife

Scoop out pulp

Place in food processor with ricotta, egg, cheese, zest, seasonings

Puree until smooth

Now it’s ready to put together

I used fresh lasagna sheets for fast and easy assembly

Slather them with some butternut squash mixture

Top with a layer of spinach leaves

Roll up and snuggle them into a greased casserole dish,

seam side down

Melt butter, add sage leaves and cook until they crisp

It only takes a minute for the sage to crisp up

Push the sage leaves aside and spoon the butter over filled cannelloni

Sprinkle a little Parmesan on them

Cover and refrigerate at this point until ready to bake, if desired

After baking garnish with warm sage leaves

Serve 2-3 cannelloni per person

This recipe is adapted from Proud Italian Cook

BUTTERNUT and SPINACH CANNELLONI with BROWN BUTTER SAGE

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword baked pasta casserole, brown butter sage, butternut squash, spinach cannelloni, vegetable cannelloni

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

roasting time 1

Servings 6

Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash
1 package of good quality pre-made pasta sheets
1 lb. ricotta drained of liquid
fresh spinach leaves about 1/4 bag
3/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese divided
1 egg slightly beaten
1 garlic clove finely chopped and smashed
salt and pepper to taste
zest of 1/2 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 stick unsalted butter
10 sage leaves

Instructions

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds.
Add squash to a parchment lined baking sheet then drizzle both halves with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast until tender and knife tip goes through easily, about 45-60 minutes.
Let it cool completely then scoop out the flesh and discard the skin.
Add ricotta, egg, 1/2 cup grated cheese, garlic, zest and squash into a food processor and pulse, just until mixed. You can also whip it all together by hand.
For assembly, cut pasta sheet in half, my package had 7 sheets yielding 14 cannelloni. Spread with a layer of filling, top with spinach leaves and then roll up placing them seam side down on a buttered baking dish.
For the sauce, melt butter in a sauce pan on medium until bubbly and golden brown, throw in all 10 sage leaves, let them sizzle and get crisp.
Take sauce off heat and squeeze in juice from 1/2 lemon.
Push sage to the side of the pan to reserve, spoon sauce on top of each shell and sprinkle each with grated parmesan or romano.
Loosely cover with foil and place in 400 oven until filling is cooked, around 15-30 minutes, depending on if dish has been refrigerated prior to baking.
Top cannelloni with warm sage leaves before serving. Serves 4-6