Sausage and Ricotta Cannelloni

Ingredients for  4  Servings

• For the Filling

• 400g

  Italian sausages, skins removed and sausage meat finely chopped
• 1

  Onion, finely chopped
• 2 Sticks

  Celery, finely chopped
• 4

  Sage leaves, roughly chopped
• 100ml

  Red wine
• 400g

  Ricotta
• 150g

  Parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve
• 1

  Egg, beaten
• 100g

  Panko breadcrumbs
• For the Sauce

• 4 tsp

  Olive oil
• 1

  Garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 4

  Basil leaves
• 600g

  Passata
• -

  Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• To Assemble

• 2 x 500g

  Packets dried cannelloni tubes
• 200g

  Mozzarella, cut into 1cm/½in cubes

Approximate Times

• Preparation :

  Less than 30 minutes
• Cooking :

  1 to 2 hours

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4.
2. To fill the cannelloni, place the sausage, ricotta, egg, and parmesan mixture into a piping bag. Pick up a cannelloni tube and put one side of the tube onto a chopping board. Cut the plastic end of the piping bag so that the hole is about 2cm/¾in across. Place the piping bag into the cannelloni tube and squeeze until the tube is full. Repeat this until all the filling has been used.
3. Use the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to grease an ovenproof dish. Spoon some of the tomato sauce into the dish, so that there is a 1cm/½in in the bottom. Place the filled cannelloni tubes on top of the tomato sauce, then cover with the remaining tomato sauce.
4. Scatter the mozzarella and remaining parmesan over the top, then cover the dish with foil, making sure to seal all the way around the edge. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 10 minutes.
5. To serve, leave to cool for a few minutes before you serve on hot plates, with extra grated parmesan and black pepper.