littletree bakes...Roasted Squash Cannelloni

Hello all, another recipe for you on this rather wet and miserable day! Now I know this pic is a little large but this squash was just so beautiful I felt it needed a close up! Yes this was one of my many smaller squashes I had for table decorations at my Halloween dinner, but nothing is just for decoration in this house...plus they are too damn tasty not to eat! If you have never tried to make your own cannelloni I urge you to give it a try, it really is pretty easy it just takes a little time and patience when it comes to the actual stuffing of the pasta tubes...I use the end of a teaspoon to scooch it down into the tube but you can use your finger or even better get the kids to do it! I used to love all the fun messy jobs in the kitchen when I was younger! Ok enough rambling, here's the recipe...x

1/ Take 1 medium/large squash, any variety, cut in half and remove seeds, place on baking tray and season, drizzle a glug of oil over the top and pop in a pre-heated oven (180c) for 45 mins-1 hour until the flesh is soft.

2/ Remove squash when done and leave to cool while you get on with the other prep. (Leave oven on.) Finely chop 1 onion and 1-2 cloves of garlic and gently fry until soft, I also added a few mushrooms here as extra flavour but you could add anything you like, a handful of spinach or nothing at all if you want that pure squash taste.

3/ Scoop the squash flesh into a large bowl along with the cooked onion and garlic, now add 1 tub of ricotta (about 250g) Give it all a light mash together with a fork then season with salt and pepper plus some freshly grated nutmeg (nutmeg loves squash!) give it a little stir to combine and taste, adjust according to your personal taste.

4/ Now start scooping the mix into the pasta tubes, I use dried as they are easier to handle! This mix makes roughly 12 filled tubes but can be more/less depending on your size of squash. I recommend doing this process over the bowl as it can get messy - place in oven dish.

We have this dish that perfectly fits 12 tubes exactly! How lucky!

5/ Once all your tubes are filled pour over your sauce of choice, I used a light cheese sauce here as we had a tub in the fridge but a jar of ordinary tomato sauce works well too. Smooth out the sauce so it fills all the gaps and completely covers the pasta tubes.

6/ Sprinkle on some cheese, I like a mix of cheddar and Parmesan, pop into the hot oven for 35-45 mins until golden and bubbling. The pasta tubes will be soft but not soggy and still have a bite.

7/ If you can resist let it cool slightly before tucking in! Serve with a green salad and enjoy!

Bonus Extra Recipe! Take the seeds from the squash and remove as much flesh as you can. Give them a quick wash and dry. Place on a dry tray and add salt and pepper or spice of choice. Roast in the hot oven until dry and crispy, keep an eye because they will catch quickly! And they're done! Serve sprinkled on your salad, yum!x