Pumpkin cannelloni

Here is the perfect recipe for all the pumpkin lovers out there.
I think pumpkin is still a bit underrated. There are so many great things you can do with pumpkins, besides using it as a Halloween decoration.
Pickled pumpkin, pumpkin bread, ravioli filled with pumpkin and pumpkin soup, just to name a few. 
I think one of my favorite dishes to make is pumpkin cannelloni.
It's a vegetarian dish, it surely hit the spot.

Pumpkin cannelloni:

filling:
2 cups pureed pumpkin
1/4 cup toasted pine-nuts
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
 salt, pepper, nutmeg to taste
 
sauce:
3 cups tomato sauce
1 tbs. sugar
oregano, basil, salt and pepper to taste

grated cheese
about 18 cannelloni shells, uncooked


Mix pumpkin, ricotta cheese, egg and Parmesan cheese. Chop half of the toasted pine-nuts coarsely, and fold them into the pumpkin mix. Season with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg. Set it aside and prepare the sauce.

Heat the tomato sauce and season it with oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Add sugar to take the bitterness out of the tomato sauce.

Pour half of the tomato sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Now it's time to fill the cannelloni shells. I usually take a zip lock bag or a cake decorating bag, fill it and then cut off one corner and squeeze the filling into the shells. Arrange them side by side on the sauce in your baking dish. When all the shells are filled, pour the other half of the tomato sauce on top. Sprinkle with remaining pine nuts and top with grated cheese.

Bake at 375- 400 F for about 30 minutes or until cannelloni shells are tender.
If the cheese gets too dark, cover the dish with some tin foil.