Cannelloni ricotta e spinaci – spinach and ricotta cannelloni
Our spinach and ricotta cannelloni recipe is a great vegetarian comfort food dish. Stuffed with spinach and ricotta, the cannelloni sit on a garlicky tomato sauce and are topped with a creamy béchamel.
Time
1 hour
Ingredients
3 fresh lasagne sheets, cut in half, or 6 cannelloni tubes
10g of Parmesan, finely grated
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 400g tin of chopped tomato
salt
pepper
500g of spinach
250g of ricotta
10g of Parmesan
1 lemon, zested
freshly grated nutmeg
freshly ground black pepper
salt
15g of butter
15g of flour
1 bay leaf
300ml of whole milk, warmed
freshly grated nutmeg
1 dash of white wine vinegar
salt
Instructions
Step 1
Begin by making a simple tomato sauce. Gently heat the oil in a pan and add the garlic. Once soft but not coloured (about 30–45 seconds) add the tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper
Step 2
Meanwhile, wilt the spinach in a hot dry pan (you may need to work in batches). Squeeze the spinach of excess water then roughly chop
Step 3
Mix the spinach with the ricotta and Parmesan, then add lemon zest, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Taste to check you are happy with the flavour
Step 4
If using fresh pasta, blanch the sheets in boiling water then plunge into iced water
Step 5
Pat the pasta dry with kitchen paper or a clean tea towel. Place a spoonful or two of the spinach mixture down the width of each sheet, then roll up into cannelloni shapes
Step 6
If using dried cannelloni, spoon the filling into a piping bag and fill the tubes this way
Step 7
Place the tomato sauce in the bottom of an ovenproof dish and lay the cannelloni on top. Preheat an oven to 180°C/gas mark 4 whilst you make the béchamel sauce
Step 8
Heat the butter and flour in a pan and stir to create a paste (roux). Stir for a couple of minutes to cook out the floury taste, then whisk in the warm milk bit by bit to avoid lumps
Step 9
Add the bay leaf and season with salt and a dash of vinegar. Leave to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, to infuse the flavour then remove the bay leaf
Step 10
Spoon the béchamel over the cannelloni and top with grated Parmesan. Bake for 25 minutes for fresh pasta or 45 minutes if using dried. Serve hot
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