Cannelloni with pumpkin and spinach filling

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 250 g cannelloni
• 10 ml vegetable oil for the mold
• 100 g cheese, grated
• 125 g pumpkin seeds, roasted
• 700 g pumpkin flesh, diced
• 500 g fresh leaf spinach
• 40 g cream cheese
• 500 g tomatoes, pureed
• 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1 small onion(s), finely diced
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• ½ bunch thyme
• 600 ml milk
• 1 onion(s), finely diced
• 1 clove(s) garlic
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 6 carnations
• 2 bay leaves
• 25 g butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• salt and pepper
• nutmeg
• Sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour 45 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours 45 minutes

vegetarian

For the cannelloni filling, first braise the pumpkin flesh in a pot with a little water in a hot oven at 180°C for 20 minutes until soft. Purée with a hand blender. Briefly blanch the spinach in boiling salted water. Drain and cool in ice water. Squeeze out the water and finely slice the spinach. Mix it with the cream cheese into the pumpkin purée. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. For the tomato sauce, sauté the diced onion and garlic in hot vegetable oil. Deglaze with the balsamic vinegar. Then add the tomato paste and fry briefly. Add the passata and the torn thyme leaves and simmer on low heat for half an hour. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar (if you like it spicier, you can also add a pinch of chili). For the béchamel sauce, sauté the crushed garlic cloves and diced onion in the vegetable oil. Pour in the milk. Simmer on low heat with cloves and bay leaves for a quarter of an hour. Let stand for another half hour. Now heat the butter in a separate saucepan. Mix the flour into the melted butter and toast until the mixture turns a light brown color. Pour in the flavored milk through a sieve. Heat and simmer on low heat for a quarter of an hour. Now finish the cannelloni. First, fill the cannelloni with the pumpkin and spinach mixture. Place in a greased, ovenproof dish and pour the tomato sauce over it. Top with the béchamel sauce. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and then with the toasted pumpkin seeds. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 45 minutes, until the cannelloni are tender.