Spinach, feta & beetroot cannelloni

Ingredients 1 beetroot, 200ml passata, 1 leek, 1 small white onion, 1 carrot, 400g spinach, 150g feta, 50g cheddar, 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg, 12 cannelloni tubes, olive oil, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1/2tsp basil, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 glass red wine.

Serves: 4 Preparation: 30 minutes (plus overnight)

Words fail me to describe just how luscious this dish was. Spinach, as you know, is my absolute favourite and I would genuinely eat it three times a day without ever getting remotely bored of it. Mmmm spinach. But even those without my passion for it, will love the combination of tangy feta and fresh juicy spinach, smothered in a rich tomato and beetroot sauce. For best results, prepare a day in advance. By allowing the pasta to rest overnight, the juices from the spinach will begin to soften it, meaning it can cook for less time in the oven and avoid that horrible "leathery" texture that can happen when the sauce isn't sufficient enough to "boil" it, as dried pasta really does require this.

1) Combine the fresh spinach, nutmeg and feta in a food processor until a thick puree has formed. Fill the cannelloni tubes using a teaspoon and a little patience and transfer to an ovenproof dish. 

2) Use the grate option on your food processor to blitz the onion, leek, carrot and beetroot together, then transfer the soffrito/mirepoix to a pan with a glug of olive oil and allow to sizzle for 5 minutes until soft and juicy. I like to add a glass of red wine for extra flavour and cook it off at this stage, but this is entirely optional.

3) Add the herbs and passata, then simmer for a further 10 minutes and set aside to cool down to room temperature before pouring over the cannelloni. Allow to rest in the fridge overnight.

4) Top with the cheddar cheese, cover with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 200 degrees. Remove the foil for the last 5 minutes, then serve hot.

Pumpkin cannelloni

Ingredients Pumpkin, marscapone, egg, passata tomatoes, mozarella, cheddar, smoked garlic, smoked chipotle chillis, white onion, sage

Serves: 2 Preparation: 30 minutes (+1 hour to make the pumpkin puree)


I love pumpkin, this time of year finds me baking pumpkin bread and making pumpkin soup and I always save some of the pumpkin puree to make cannelloni or ravioli with. When it comes to cannelloni I love to get creative - seeing people in the supermarket buying microwaveable spinach and ricotta cannelloni that I know will taste bland and have the texture of leather makes me feel so sad. It's so quick and easy to make. If you haven't already - check out my spinach & goats cheese, pork & apple and stilton & cashew cannelloni recipes.


1) Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds and pith with a spoon. Make sure all the stringiness has been removed. Peel away the skin with a chef's knife and cut the flesh into cubes.

2) Roast in the oven in an ovenproof dish with a lid for 50 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the roast pumpkin and blend until smooth.

3) Sieve away the excess juice - this, along with the juice in the ovenproof dish should make about a pint of liquid. The liquid remaining from this recipe, along with the rest of the pumpkin puree is perfect for Pumpkin Soup.


4) Sage really brings out the warmth of pumpkin - finely chop about 5 large sage leaves and stir into the pumpkin puree. Beat together one egg and the marscapone, then whisk in 200 of the pumpkin puree. Put in the fridge to firm up.


5) Pumpkin loves spices so to make this sauce sautee half a very finely diced onion in about a teaspoon of chilli oil then pour in 250g of passata tomatoes. 


6) Add half a bulb of smoked garlic, minced and a tablespoon of chopped smoked chipotle chillis and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Thank you to The Chilli Jam Man for the yummy smoked ingredients! Season with salt to taste.


7) Stuff 6 cannelloni tubes with the pumpkin mix using a teaspoon and rest in an ovenproof dish. Pour over the sauce and top with 100g grated mozarella and cheddar. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes covered with foil and a further 5 minutes uncovered to allow the cheese to crisp.

Pork & apple cannelloni

Ingredients  Sausage meat, parsley, braeburn   apple, butter, bell peppers, red wine, passata tomatoes, white onion, cheddar, basil, basil oil

1) Peel, core and finely dice a Braeburn apple and sautee in butter for 2 minutes. Mix the apple with freshly chopped parsley and the sausage meat and stuff it inside cannelloni tubes. Set aside.


2) Remove the top and seeds from 2 bell peppers and slice into chunks. Roast in the oven, drizzled with basil oil for 20 minutes, or until the edges just begin to blacken.


3) Finely dice a white onion and sautee in butter until soft. Add a glass of red wine and reduce, stirring regularly until half the liquid remains. Gradually add the passata tomatoes, chopped basil and parsley and season with a pinch of salt.


4) In as casserole dish, first place the cannelloni tubes, side by side and then spoon a layer of roast peppers, followed by a few ladles of the tomato and red wine sauce. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then add a layer of grated cheese. Bake in the oven for a further 10 minutes and serve.

Spinach and goats cheese cannelloni

Ingredients Cannelloni tubes, spinach leaves, goats cheese, nutmeg, cheddar, passata tomatoes, oregano, basil, parsley, basil oil, garlic

1) Put the spinach leaves and goats cheese into a blender along with half a freshly grated nutmeg (don't buy powdered nutmeg, it tastes of dust. Grate it yourself - it's worth it!) and blitz.

2) Stuff the spinach mixture into the cannelloni tubes and rest in an ovenproof dish

3) Sautee some crushed garlic in basil oil, add a splash of red wine and then stir in the passata. Simmer, adding salt and black pepper to taste.

4) At the last minute stir in the parsley, basil and oregano and pour the sauce over the cannelloni tubes.

5) Top with grated cheddar and cover the dish with foil.

6) Bake covered for 15 minutes and then a further 10 with the foil removed so that the cheese bubbles

7) I served this with a rocket, watercress and pine nut salad.

*special tip* for a non-vegetarian twist, wrap a slice of bacon around each tube for a mouthwateringly different dish.