Cannelloni pasta with ricotta and spinach
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Makes: 4 portions
 
Ingredients
  • 3 tbspn olive oil
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 600 gr fresh spinach
  • 500 gr ricotta
  • 1 lemon
  • 16 cannelloni
  • 100 gr Parmesan cheese
  • 400 ml tomato passata
  • 1 tbspn basil
  • 100 gr walnuts
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C and grease a shallow ovenproof dish.
  2. Chop onion and garlic and sweat off in the oil.
  3. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Drain well in a colander.
  4. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan until fragrant.
  5. Zest the lemon and chop the walnuts.
  6. Mix the ricotta with the drained spinach, walnuts, lemon zest and salt and pepper and possibly nutmeg to taste.
  7. Mix the tomato passata with the basil and seasoning to taste and spread half of it on the bottom of the dish.
  8. Boil the cannelloni for 1 minute in salted boiling water and drain.
  9. Using a piping bag or a small spoon, fill the cannelloni with the spinach and ricotta mixture and lay them next to each other on top of the tomato sauce.
  10. Spread the remaining sauce over them to cover and sprinkle the grated cheese on top.
  11. Bake the dish for 25 min or until the pasta is cooked and the cheese has melted.
Stuff to know
Cannelloni are a cylindrical type of pasta generally served baked with a filling and covered by a sauce in Italian cuisine.
Make sure the spinach is well drained or your filling will be too wet.
Don’t overcook the canneloni or they will be too soft and fragile to fill.
It is possible to prepare the dish ahead of time and cook is just before serving. Allow more time for baking if the dish comes straight out of the fridge.
Recipe by Jeroen Valkenier Recipes at https://jpvalkenier.com/cannelloni-pasta-with-ricotta-and-spinach/