New Classics: Inspiring and delicious recipes to transform your home cooking

40g pine nuts

1 bunch of basil, leaves only

30g grated Parmesan cheese

2 garlic cloves, crushed

100ml olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.

To make the tomato sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 10 minutes until soft and golden, stirring frequently. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, season with sea salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a blender or use a stick blender to blitz the sauce to a smooth consistency, then leave to cool.

While the tomato sauce is cooking, make the white sauce. Put the milk in a small saucepan, stud the onion with the cloves and add it to the milk along with the bay leaf. Gently bring to the boil over low heat. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for a few minutes before removing the bay leaf and onion.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat and add the flour and a pinch each of sea salt and pepper. Cook for about 1 minute to get rid of the floury taste, but avoid letting it brown. Add a ladle of the warm milk and stir to combine. Continue adding the milk, a little at a time, until it’s all incorporated. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for a few minutes, until you have a thick pouring sauce. Keep warm, over very low heat or off the heat covered with a lid, while you prepare the rest of the ingredients for the cannelloni.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and blanch the spinach for l minute. Refresh under cold running water and drain well. Squeeze out the excess moisture from the leaves and roughly chop.

Mix the ricotta with the Cheddar cheese and grated nutmeg in a bowl and season to taste with sea salt and pepper. Add the spinach and mix well.

To make the basil pesto, put the pine nuts on a baking tray and toast them in the oven for 6 minutes, shaking the tray halfway through. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, and reduce the oven temperature to 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5. Put the basil, Parmesan, garlic, oil and toasted pine nuts in a blender and blitz to form a chunky pesto. Season well.

Put the ricotta and spinach mix in a piping bag and pipe it into the cannelloni tubes. Lay the filled cannelloni tubes in one layer in a large lasagne dish and cover with a layer of tomato sauce and basil pesto. Cover the cannelloni with the cheese sauce, scatter over the grated Gruyère and season with sea salt and pepper.

Bake for 45–50 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the pasta is al dente.

KABOCHA SQUASH, PARMESAN AND ROSEMARY TART (#ulink_5fbb290f-ea42-5ac1-b150-f76e771ae570)

Kabocha squash are the ideal variety of squash for this recipe as they have a low moisture content so the pastry will remain deliciously crisp. The pairing with Parmesan and rosemary complements the sweetness of the squash perfectly. I love to make this at the end of summer and serve it with a green salad for a tasty weekend lunch.

Serves: 6

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: about 1 hour

1 kabocha or butternut squash, peeled, halved and deseeded

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 × 320g sheet of ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry

1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary

30g pine nuts

60g grated Parmesan cheese

1 garlic clove, finely grated

50ml olive oil

3 tbsp mascarpone

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 210°C/190°C fan/gas 7 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Slice each squash half into 1cm-thick slices and place them in a single layer on a roasting tray. Drizzle with the oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Bake for 15–20 minutes until just tender.

Lay the pastry out flat on the lined baking tray and carefully score a 1cm border around the edge.

Place the rosemary, pine nuts, half the Parmesan, the garlic, olive oil and a pinch of sea salt in a tall container and blend using a stick blender. Add the mascarpone and pulse until combined.

Spread the mix inside the border on the puff pastry. Lay the squash slices over the mix and finish with a good dose of black pepper.

Bake for 30–35 minutes until golden. Sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan and place back in the oven until the cheese melts. Serve hot.

BRAISED TOFU WITH BUCKWHEAT, CAVALO NERO AND CAPERS (#ulink_6f56c34b-3337-5b39-ad12-8e2ce8af4e68)

Tofu itself is a rather flavourless ingredient, however it does add a good texture to dishes. If you have never been a fan then do try this dish as the flavours work really well together and create a tasty and wholesome meal. Always use firm tofu, and preferably a refrigerated product, not an ambient, shelf-stocked one, as the flavour and texture are much better.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: about 50 minutes

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, thinly sliced

200g buckwheat

2 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely grated

½ red chilli, deseeded and finely diced

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp picked thyme leaves

2 tbsp tomato purée

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce