By March. The azaleas outside my apartment have their first color at the tips, right on schedule, and I have been checking every morning and this morning I could see it: the first pale pink at the very ends of the branches, the signal that something is beginning again. I stood at the curb in the March morning air and looked at the bushes and thought about all the Marches I have stood here, checking, waiting for this. Ten of them. Eleven in April.
I have been thinking about the wedding. Tyler and I have landed on what we want: small, October, in a place we love. Gloria's back yard, which is not a large yard but is a beautiful one in October when the light is low and golden and the oak at the corner is starting to turn. Tyler wants to get married under that oak. I said yes to that immediately.
I told Crystal about the wedding plans this week. She went quiet on the phone for a moment and then she said: October. She said: your birthday month. I said: yes. She said: I know you will be beautiful. She said it quietly, carefully, like she was allowed to say it and was asking permission at the same time. I said: thank you. Neither of us said anything else for a moment. I let the moment be what it was without trying to name it.
I made a lemon ricotta pasta this week, the first of spring in my seasonal rotation. Light and bright and exactly right for early March when you need something that says: things are beginning.
The lemon ricotta pasta I mentioned is the recipe I reach for every year when the season first turns — it’s become a kind of ritual, a way of marking the shift. This cannelloni lives in the same spirit: tender pasta tubes filled with creamy cheese, asparagus just barely cooked so it still has something to say, and ham for a little quiet richness underneath it all. I made it the same week I saw those first pink tips on the azaleas, the same week I talked to Crystal, and it felt exactly right — something assembled with care, tucked together, warm from the oven, hopeful.
Cheesy Asparagus and Ham Cannelloni
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 12 cannelloni tubes (dried, uncooked)
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella, divided
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, divided
- 1 cup diced ham
- 1 bunch asparagus (about 12 spears), woody ends removed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 cups bechamel sauce (store-bought or homemade)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Blanch asparagus. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add asparagus pieces and cook for 2 minutes until just tender-bright. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Pat dry.
- Make the filling. In a large bowl, combine ricotta, 3/4 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup Parmesan, ham, asparagus, garlic, egg, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir until well combined.
- Fill the cannelloni. Using a small spoon or piping bag, fill each cannelloni tube generously with the ricotta-ham mixture. Arrange filled tubes in a single layer in the prepared baking dish.
- Add sauce and cheese. Pour bechamel sauce evenly over the cannelloni, making sure the tubes are mostly covered. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan over the top. Drizzle with olive oil.
- Bake covered. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Bake uncovered. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes until the top is golden and bubbling and the pasta is tender when pierced with a knife.
- Rest and serve. Let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving. Finish with extra Parmesan and freshly cracked black pepper if desired.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 520 | Protein: 31g | Fat: 24g | Carbs: 44g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 890mg