Recipes
Butternut Cannelloni with Sage/Brown Butter Sauce
If you can't find sheets of fresh pasta, you can use lasagna noodles, cooked until al dente and well-drained
Ingredients:
- 3 1/2 tablespoons whipped butter, divided use
- 3 cups cubed, partially thawed frozen butternut squash (available in the frozen section at Whole Foods), or fresh butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
- 3/4 cup diced fennel bulb (also called anise), 1/4-inch dices
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons chopped shallot
- 1/4 cup water
- 6 fresh pasta rectangles (about 6-inches by 4-inches), available at Whole Foods and other specialty markets
- Canola cooking spray
- 6 fresh sage leaves, cut widthwise into thin strips
- 2 tablespoons minced shallot
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste (optional)
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat in a large, nonstick skillet until foam subsides. Add squash, fennel, salt, and pepper. Saute, stirring occasionally, until golden (about 4 minutes). Lower heat to a simmer, then stir in shallot and water, cover skillet and simmer until the vegetables are tender (about 8 minutes). Turn off heat, remove cover and let the mixture cool.
- While vegetables are cooling, start 2-3 inches of water boiling in a large saucepan. Add sheets of pasta and gently boil until al dente (about 2-3 minutes). Gently transfer the pasta sheets to a bowl of ice and cold water to cool. Drain well and pat dry on paper towels.
- Add cooled butternut squash mixture to food processor and pulse to blend. (If you don't have a food processor, just mash the mixture until relatively smooth.) Coat a 9 x 9-inch baking dish with canola or olive oil cooking spray. Set one sheet of pasta on a plate coated with canola or olive oil cooking spray. Spread 1/4 cup of the filling along the short end of the rectangle and roll up to create a cannelloni. Place it seam-side down in the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining pasta sheets and filling. Coat the top of the cannelloni with canola or olive oil cooking spray.
- Bake until cannelloni is hot and pasta is starting to lightly brown (about 12 minutes). While cannelloni is baking, heat 3 tablespoons whipped butter over medium-high heat in a small, nonstick saucepan and stir until foam subsides. Add sage and 2 tablespoons shallot and saute until sage is crisp, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat. Stir in lemon juice, fresh parsley, and salt and pepper if desired.
- To serve as a first course, place one cannelloni on a small plate and drizzle one-sixth of the brown butter and sage mixture down the center of the cannelloni.
Yield:
6 appetizer servings (or 3 entree servings)
Nutritional Information:
Per appetizer serving: 127 calories, 3 g protein, 20 g carbohydrate, 4.8 g fat, 2.8 g saturated fat, 21 mg cholesterol, 4 g fiber, 147 mg sodium (not including salt and pepper to taste). Calories from fat: 33%.
© 2007 Elaine Magee
or© 2007 WebMD Inc.

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