1. Heat up olive oil in a large frying pan.
2. Add diced onion and sauté until softened and translucent stirring regularly (about 10 minutes on a low heat).
3. Add diced garlic and sauté for another 2-3 minutes, until fragrant, stirring very frequently.
4. Next, add in plum tomatoes and squash them gently with a spatula before adding in a can’s worth of water.
5. Season with dried herbs, salt and pepper and a pinch of chilli flakes if you enjoy a little heat.
6. Allow the sauce to bubble gently for about 45-60 minutes until the tomatoes break down completely and the sauce thickens. Keep an eye on the pan, giving it a stir now and then and top up with more water if the sauce is starting to look dry while the tomatoes are still too chunky. Prepare ricotta filling while the sauce bubbles away.
7. Once the sauce thickens (see photo), adjust the seasoning to your taste, including a dash of sugar if needed.

SPINACH RICOTTA FILLING

1. Sauté the spinach in a large pan or blanch it in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, then immediately refresh under a cold tap. Let it cool down.
2. Drain the nuts (or seeds) and place them in a food processor along with all the remaining ingredients.
3. Blend until you you get a uniform creamy, mixture with a little bit of texture. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed remembering that you won’t be able to salt your pasta tubes.
4. Squeeze all of the water out of the spinach using your hands, be thorough and either add it to the food processor and process until uniformly minced or chop it by hand (I prefer that as it gives me more control) and stir it through the ‘ricotta’ mixture before filling the cannelloni.

ASSEMBLY

1. Preheat the oven to 180° C / 360° F.
2. Spoon half of the tomato sauce at the bottom of a baking tray and around the edges so that cannelloni doesn’t touch the baking tray directly.
3. Using a piping bag (a large freezer bag with a corner cut off works well), fill the cannelloni with the spinach ricotta mixture and arrange on the tomato sauce (see photos).
4. Spoon the rest of tomato sauce on top of the filled cannelloni and tuck it into any gaps.
5. Pour about 60 ml / ¼ cup of water all over the baking tray and top the cannelloni with shredded vegan cheese or pools of homemade béchamel.
6. Bake for about 35 minutes, then increase the oven temperature to 220° C / 425° F for the last 10 minutes to get that golden top. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze.