Pumpkin & Ricotta Cannelloni

Yesterday I wanted to make something nice for dinner for my sister.  I'm on school holidays right now and she still has to go to work.  I wasn't sure what I was going to make, all I knew was that I wanted it to have pumpkin in it.  After a quick search on www.taste.com.au, I found something that ticked my fancy.

Pumpkin & Ricotta Cannelloni

The recipe appeared reasonably simple and the ingredients were nothing fancy.

It sure didn't disappoint.

The pumpkin filling was devine.  I love sage and the addition of the herb into the filling was pretty clever.  My sister could have eaten the filling straight out of the bowl (she actually tried!).

The comments on the recipe page mentioned that it was kind of bland, so to combat that I decided to add cheese to the cream sauce turning it into a kind of bechamel.  This added an extra saltiness to the meal and I really believe it complemented it well.  The addition of walnuts in the sauce and as a garnish was another exciting element as it gave the meal a much needed crunch.

I really enjoyed this meal and am really looking forward to making it again.  My sister suggested that I might want to try adding a bit of a tomato sauce to it as well to give it some acidity, so that is something to consider when I make it again.  I will also not use the same (or any) garlic bread.  I bought some green leaves for a salad, but my sister and I decided to be gluttons...

*I did not make this meal for it's calorie content.  Let's not kid around, this meal would have had a days worth of calories in it.  It is obviously not for every day consumption.  But it was pretty fantastic as a dinner treat.