This sausage, ricotta and cavolo nero cannelloni is a make-ahead pasta bake that’s a bit more special than your average lasagne. The filling is sausage meat cooked with fennel, leek, shallot, sage and fennel seeds, deglazed with white wine, then mixed with cavolo nero, ricotta and lemon zest. The tomato sauce is blitzed with roasted butternut squash, which gives it a lovely natural sweetness without having to reduce it for hours. Topped with mozzarella and crispy panko, it can be frozen and baked from defrosted at 180°C for 30-45 minutes, or baked straight away. I serve it with a fresh fennel, parsley and salad leaf side dressed with lemon and olive oil, which can be prepped the day before. It serves 6 and is ideal for a dinner party, a family Sunday or anyone looking for a freezer-friendly recipe for hosting. Part of my Here’s something I made earlier series of make-ahead recipes for hosts.
recipe
Servings:
6 as a main
Cook time:
1.5 hours
Ingredients
1 fennel bulb
1 leek
1 shallot
400g sausages, skins off
Olive oil
Handful of sage
2 tbsp fennel seeds
100ml white wine
5 stalks cavolo nero
250g ricotta
Zest of 1 lemon
1 butternut squash
2 cans Mutti tomatoes
1l water
250g cannelloni tubes
2 mozzarella balls
2 tbsp panko
Salt & pepper
For the salad:
3 fennel bulbs
50g parsley
1 packet mixed leaves
Juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp olive oil
Flaky salt
Method
1. Roast the squash at 180C in the oven with olive oil and salt for 1 hour until soft. Cool.
2. Sauté the fennel, leek and shallot until soft, then add the fennel seeds and sage.
3. Add the sausages and brown, breaking them up. Deglaze with the wine.
4. Stir through the cavolo nero, then cool completely.
5. Mix in the ricotta and lemon zest, then stuff the cannelloni tubes.
6. Blitz the roasted squash with the tomatoes and a pinch of salt until smooth. Add the water.
7. Layer the sauce and cannelloni in a dish, top with mozzarella, panko and seasoning. Freeze.
8. Defrost overnight, then bake at 180°C for 30-45 minutes until golden.
9. Whisk the lemon juice, olive oil and flaky salt for the dressing, and toss through the fennel, parsley and leaves to serve.