Butternut Squash Cannelloni with Ricotta and Kale in Lemon Sage Brown Butter Sauce

By á-114543

There's so much flavor going on with this recipe! Sweet butternut squash, fresh ricotta, hearty kale and the nutty, bright lemon sage brown butter.

Ingredients

• 1 medium butternut squash
• 1 package good quality premade pasta sheets
• 1 pound ricotta, drained of liquid
• 1/4 cup of cooked kale, chopped, squeezed and drained, or substitute Swiss chard or spinach
• 3/4 cup Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese, grated
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped and smashed
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• 1 lemon, zested
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 10 sage leaves
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

Preparation

Step 1

Heat oven to 400°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, grated cheese, garlic, zest and squash into a food processor and pulse, just until mixed. You can also whip it all together by hand.

Add in the chopped kale little by little folding in between, just making sure the greenness of the kale doesn't overwhelm the ricotta mixture.

Cook pasta sheets for 2 minutes in boiling water, then cool them in an ice water bath. Drain on tea towels.

For assembly, cut pasta sheet in half, my package had 8 sheets so I was able to make 16 cannelloni from it. Add filling 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.


Spoon a tiny bit of sauce on top of each shell and sprinkle each with grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano. Loosely cover with foil and bake until filling is cooked, around 15 minutes, remove foil spoon remaining sauce on top along with the crispy sage leaves. Place back in the oven for 5 more minutes. Remove and enjoy!