When Queensland twins Isabella and Sofia advanced to the final 12 of Junior MasterChef, I was thrilled! Not only because they are from the Sunshine State, but because these two articulate twelve year olds had already won me over with their cooking and creativity. With a desire to one day open a restaurant called IsSofia, the twins have been handed a strong knowledge of Italian cuisine through their family.

Sofia's Invention Test recipe of Chicken and Leek Cannelloni with Orange Fennel and Radicchio Salad was a clear favourite with the judges, and I think it shot to the top of my list too!

Last night I attempted my own version of Sofia's ingenious cannelloni, copying her excellent idea to substitute crepes for those fiddly pasta tubes. Now, because Coles Woolloongabba produce section is nowhere near as comprehensive as the MasterChef kitchen, I had to substitute spinach for about half the quantity of leek, as the only leek they had was very sad. Thanks Coles, you rock. Grrr. (As a sidenote, if you are going to advertise that you supply Junior MasterChef, and supply handy little recipe cards, maybe you should stock everything on said recipe cards. Cheers.)

The cannelloni was so delicious, and such a delicate flavour compared to a traditional spinach cannelloni. They tasted fantastic with leftover green salad. I will definitely give the Orange, Fennel and Raddichio Salad a try when I can get my hands on some fennel (again, thanks for not stocking that, Coles).

I don't have a fantastic camera, and I don't have any natural light in my kitchen during the day, let alone when I get home at 7pm to cook dinner, so I'm sorry to say that I have no photos to show you that don't look washed out and anaemic. Please take my word for it that it didn't  look like this though! Mine was much less polished, and I started eating my crepe before it was fully plated up, that's how amazing it smelled!

  

Chicken and Leek Cannelloni with Orange Fennel and Radicchio Salad
Recipe by MasterChef contestant, Sofia

Tomato Passata
6 vine-ripened tomatoes (I used 5 large truss tomatoes, and there was plenty to go around!)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
¼ cup fresh basil leaves, torn (I used a dried basil and parsley mix, again, just what I had on hand)
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon sugar

Chicken & Leek Filling
1 tablespoon olive oil
 500g chicken breast fillets, cut into thick strips
20g butter
1 leek, finely chopped (I used half a leek, and a large handful of spinach)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves ( I used dried thyme)
1 tablespoon plain flour
¼ cup chicken stock (I used salt-reduced, but only because it’s what I had in the house!)
¼ cup milk
¼ cup pure cream
2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

Crepes
2/3 cup plain flour
2 eggs
1 cup full cream milk
Butter for frying
¼ cup pure cream
½ cup grated parmesan cheese

Fennel, orange and radicchio salad - Oh, I can't wait to make this!
½ cup thinly shaved fennel
½ cup shredded radicchio
½ orange, segmented and cut into cubes
½ teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
Fresh parsley leaves to garnish

1. Preheat oven to 200'C.

2. For tomato passata, half fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add tomatoes and cook until skin begins to peel away from flesh. Drain, peel skin and deseed. Slice flesh into quarters.

3. Place a medium saucepan over a high heat. Add oil and garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, basil leaves, water and sugar and season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Bring to the boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce has reduced and thickened.

4. For filling, heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Panfry chicken until golden, remove from heat and shred. Add butter, leek and thyme to the pan and cook over a medium high heat until leeks have softened. Stir in flour and cook for one minute. Add stock and milk and cook, stirring continuously until mixture has thickened. Pour in cream and shredded chicken and stir well to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside to cool.

5. For crepes, sift flour into a medium bowl. Whisk eggs and milk in a jug and gradually pour mixture into flour, whisking continuously. Heat a large frying pan or crepe pan and add a knob of butter. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of batter into pan and quickly swirl to cover base. Cook until golden, flip and cook for one minute. Repeat with remaining batter.

6. Grease the base of a large baking dish with oil and spread ¼ cup of tomato passata over base. Place a crepe on a large board and spread approximately ¼ cup of chicken mixture down the center. Roll up and place in baking dish. Repeat with remaining crepes and chicken mixture. Pour tomato passata over finished cannelloni and pour over cream. Top with parmesan cheese and for 25-30 minutes.

7. For salad, combine shaved fennel, radicchio and orange pieces in a medium bowl. Place honey, orange juice, oil and white balsamic in a small bowl or jug and whisk to combine.

8. Serve cannelloni with fennel salad, a drizzle of orange dressing and garnish with a sprig of parsley.