Categories: Pasta
Ingredients
- Sauce:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove , finely chopped
- 1 small onion , finely chopped
- 28 oz crushed tomato
- 1 cup water (swirl in tomato can to clean out)
- Handful basil leaves , torn, or 1 tsp dried herbs (e.g. Italian mix, oregano, thyme, basil)
- Filling:
- 8 oz frozen chopped spinach , thawed (Note 1)
- 1 lb ricotta , full fat please (Note 2)
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan
- 1 cup shredded cheese (Mozzarella, Colby, Cheddar, Tasty, Gruyere, Swiss)
- 1 egg
- 1 large garlic clove , minced
- Grated fresh nutmeg (just a sprinkling) or 1/8 tsp nutmeg powder (optional)
- Salt and pepper , to taste
- Cannelloni
- 18 - 22 dried cannelloni tubes (Note 3)
- 1 - 1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella
- More basil , for garnish (optional)
Directions
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Sauce:
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Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 – 3 minutes until translucent. Add tomato and water, stir then turn heat down to medium. Simmer for 5 minutes, then season to taste with salt and pepper and stir through basil (or use dried herbs). Set aside.
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Filling:
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Place spinach in a colander and press out most of the liquid (don’t need to thoroughly squeeze dry).
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Place Spinach in bowl with remaining Filling ingredients. Mix, taste, adjust salt and pepper to taste (different cheeses have different saltiness).
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Assemble & Bake:
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Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
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oose a baking pan which will comfortably fit about 20 cannelloni – mine is 21 × 26 cm / 8.5 × 10.5″ (the base, edges are sloped outwards).
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Spread a bit of Sauce on the base.
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Transfer Filling to a piping bag with a large nozzle (that fits in the tubes), or use a strong ziplock bag. Or do this step using a knife (it’s a bit tedious though!).
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Pipe the filling into the tubes. Place in baking dish.
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Pour over remaining Sauce, covering all the tubes. Cover with foil, then bake for 25 minutes.
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Remove foil, scatter over cheese. Return to oven for 10 minutes until cheese is melted.
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Serve, garnished with extra basil if desired.
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Recipe Notes
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I use frozen spinach for the convenience and also because I’m a sucker for the whole “snap frozen” thing. To use fresh, use about 500g/1 lb sliced spinach leaves or baby spinach leaves, saute with a little oil to wilt down and remove excess liquid. Cool then proceed with recipe.
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Low fat ricotta is harder and drier, so it’s more difficult to pipe into the tubes plus once baked, is not as juicy and moist.
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The cannelloni tubes I use are the dried ones sold in boxes at supermarkets and delis. They are about 11 cm / 4.5" long and 2.5cm / 1" wide. They do not need to be boiled before cooking in the oven.
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You can also make this using fresh lasagna sheets. Just roll Filling up inside, place in the baking pan seam side down. I prefer using dried tubes – refer in post for the reason why.
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Best way to MAKE AHEAD: Cook covered per recipe without the cheese until the cannelloni is cooked (just jab it, you will easily be able to tell). Then leave it covered and cool and refrigerate. The sauce will dry out a bit so give it a little sprinkle of water (literally about 2 tbsp, dripped all over) plus a generous drizzle of olive oil, then cover with cheese, then bake for about 15 minutes at 160C/320F until it is reheated and the cheese is melted with some golden bits.
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FREEZING: Cook per recipe, then let it cool, cover then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw before reheating in the microwave or oven.
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I do not recommend assembling then refrigerating before cooking, the pasta will likely bloat and leave you with a dry sauce.