Spinach Nutmeg Cannelloni 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 & NUTMEG CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 if you're serving straight away. Pierce the bag of spinach and cook in the microwave following pack instructions (if you don't have a microwave, wilt it in a pan with a dash of olive oil). Leave to cool, squeeze out as much liquid as you can, then finely chop.
• Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil and fry the garlic until softened. Add the passata and tomatoes, vinegar and sugar, then season, cover and simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and add the basil. Tip into the base of a large, shallow baking dish.
• To make the filling, beat the ricotta and a quarter of the mascarpone with 50g of the Parmesan and the chopped spinach. Finely grate in half the nutmeg, then beat until well mixed. For the topping, beat the remaining mascarpone with the egg and another 50g of the Parmesan.
• To make the cannelloni, divide the spinach filling into 6 parts, spoon a portion along the top of each lasagne sheet, then roll up into a big, fat tube. Cut in half across the middle with a sharp knife so that you have 2 smaller tubes, then arrange on top of the tomato sauce. As you put them in the dish, push them slightly so that the sauce oozes up the side of the cannelloni, as this will stop them sticking together when they are baked. Spoon the mascarpone mixture on top, making sure you cover the pasta - if it doesn't completely cover the sauce now, it will do once it melts and bakes. Scatter over the remaining Parmesan and grate over more nutmeg. If making ahead, cover and chill - it will keep for 1 day. Bake for 30-40 mins until golden and bubbling.

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 AND RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.
• In a pan with olive oil fry minced garlic cloves for 1-2 minutes.
• Add fresh spinach, cook 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. When cooled chop the spinach.
• In a large bowl mix together ricotta, chopped spinach, parmesan cheese, lemon zest, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
• When the water in the pot is boiling add the cannelloni. Cook for 6-7 minutes and transfer to cold water.
• Heat oven to 180C/360f.
• Transfer the filling into piping bag and fill all cannelloni tubes.
• Pour 4-6 tbsp of tomato sauce into the base of large baking dish (~20*30cm/8*12in). Lay the tubes, side by side. On top pour the reminding tomato sauce. And cover all with grated mozzarella cheese.
• Cover baking dish with foil and bake for 15 min, after 15 minutes remove the foil and bake 15 minutes more.
• for full video recipe visit my youtube channel: The cooking foodie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hwU6oum7GA.

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).