Green Canneloni Stuffed With Ricotta Cheese And Spinach Food

SPINACH & RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Put the spinach and a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over a low heat. Add the nutmeg, season with sea salt and black pepper, cover and leave to sweat. Help the kids to stir it occasionally until the spinach has cooked down. Place in a bowl and set to one side to cool a little.
• Dice the onion and squash the garlic. In the same pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil and gently sweat the onion until soft.
• Scrunch in the tomatoes through your clean hands and add the garlic and bay leaf. Pick in a few basil leaves and grate in the zest of the lemon half, then let it gently simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
• Have the kids squeeze the moisture out of the spinach into the bowl. Place the spinach on a board so you can chop it up. Return the spinach to the liquid in the bowl.
• Beat the egg and grate 2 teaspoons of Parmesan cheese. Get the kids to stir the ricotta, egg and Parmesan into the spinach. Season to taste.
• Sit a piping bag in a jug, fold its edges over the rim, then spoon in the spinach mixture. Have the kids help pipe the mixture into the cannelloni tubes and lay them in a 20cm x 25cm oven dish.
• Spread the tomato sauce over the cannelloni. Pick the remaining basil leaves and scatter most of them over the tomato sauce. Slice the mozzarella and lay the slices on top, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and season.
• Place in the oven and cook for 35 to 40 minutes or till the top is golden and the pasta tender (if the top browns too fast, cover the dish with foil). Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes before serving with the remaining basil leaves.

SPINACH & RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• First make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the garlic for 1 min. Add the sugar, vinegar, tomatoes and some seasoning and simmer for 20 mins, stirring occasionally, until thick. Add the basil and divide the sauce between 2 or more shallow ovenproof dishes (see Tips for freezing, below). Set aside. Make a sauce by beating the mascarpone with the milk until smooth, season, then set aside.
• Put the spinach in a large colander and pour over a kettle of boiling water to wilt it (you may need to do this in batches). When cool enough to handle squeeze out the excess water. Roughly chop the spinach and mix in a large bowl with 100g Parmesan and ricotta. Season well with salt, pepper and the nutmeg.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Using a piping bag or plastic food bag with the corner snipped off, squeeze the filling into the cannelloni tubes. Lay the tubes, side by side, on top of the tomato sauce and spoon over the mascarpone sauce. Top with Parmesan and mozzarella. You can now freeze the cannelloni, uncooked, or you can cook it first and then freeze. Bake for 30-35 mins until golden and bubbling. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 mins before serving.

SPINACH-RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes; season with salt. (You should have about 4 heaping cups of sauce.)
• Make the stuffed shells: Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook as the label directs for baking, about 9 minutes. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Spread out on a baking sheet.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a large plate lined with a kitchen towel. Squeeze to remove any excess liquid, then finely chop.
• Put the spinach in a large bowl and add the ricotta, mozzarella, parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest, beaten egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir until combined.
• To assemble, spread about half of the sauce in the bottom of a 10-by-14-inch baking dish. Evenly fill the shells with the spinach-ricotta mixture using a spoon, or pipe it in using a pastry bag. Arrange the shells side by side, open-side up, in the baking dish on top of the sauce, then top with the remaining sauce.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake until heated through and the sauce is simmering around the edges, about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until any shells or cheese poking through the sauce are lightly browned in spots, about 10 more minutes. Let sit 10 minutes. Top with more Parmesan and red pepper flakes.

RICOTTA STUFFED CANNELONI

Steps:

• Saute onion and garlic in 1/2 tablespoon hot oil until translucent. Remove from heat and let cool. Mix with ricotta cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon this mixture into the canneloni noodles and place noodles in a buttered casserole dish. To make sauce, saute garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil until just brown. Add both cans of tomatoes with liquid and let simmer. Season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce on filled canneloni. Sprinkle with Parmesan and dot with butter. Bake in preheated 400 degrees F oven for 25 minutes.

SPINACH & RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a pan, and cook the onion and garlic until tender. Add the spinach and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often.
• Place in a bowl, and add the ricotta, eggs, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Mix well.
• Stuff each canneloni tube, and put in a baking dish.
• Pour the jar of sauce over the pasta.
• Top with cheese, and bake at 180C until cheese is golden, and the sauce is bubbling (about 30 minutes).

RICOTTA & SPINACH CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Mix the first 5 ingredients together.
• Preheat your oven to about 180d C.
• Place about 1/3rd cup of filling into the centre of each pasta sheet and roll into a cylinder.
• When all sheets are filled place a cup of the sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 12 inch pan and then lay the cannelloni's on top of it.
• After all have been assembled spread the remaining sauce on top then sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Bake about 30 mins until they are bubbling and golden then let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

MUSHROOM , SPINACH, AND CHEESE STUFFED CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Saute onions, bell pepper, mushrooms, spinach, and garlic in olive oil 3-5 minutes.
• Mix ingredients in step 2 with ricotta, mozzarella (use all but one cup), parsley, eggs, salt, and white pepper.
• Pour filling into two 1-quart size Ziploc baggies.
• In an 8x12 baking dish spread 1/3 of the jar of pasta sauce on the bottom (just a light coat on the bottom so the pasta won't stick).
• Cut one corner on the Ziploc baggie and slowly squeeze the mix into each pasta shell and put filled shell in the baking dish (I had to squeeze in one side and then turn and squeeze in the other side).
• Pour the rest of the jar of pasta sauce on top of shells (If I have leftover filling, I squeeze it over the top first).
• Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan.
• Cook for 30 minutes.