Leek Spinach And Ricotta Cannelloni Recipes

SPINACH RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 - 3 minutes until translucent. Add tomato, water, salt and pepper.
• Stir, reduce heat to medium, simmer for 5 minutes. Optional: add 1/2 cup water and blend sauce until smooth (I do this for guests!).
• Stir through basil or dried herbs. Set aside.
• Place spinach in a colander and press out most of the liquid (don't need to thoroughly squeeze dry).
• Place Spinach in bowl with remaining Filling ingredients. Mix, taste, adjust salt and pepper to taste (different cheeses have different saltiness).
• Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
• Choose a baking pan which will comfortably fit about 20 cannelloni - mine is 21 x 26 cm / 8.5 x 10.5".
• Spread a bit of Sauce on the base.
• 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!).
• Pipe the filling into the tubes. Place in baking dish.
• Pour over remaining Sauce, covering all the tubes. Cover with foil, then bake for 25 minutes.
• Remove foil, scatter over cheese. Return to oven for 10 minutes until cheese is melted.
• Serve, garnished with extra basil if desired.

SPINACH RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 350F (180C).
• In a medium sized pan add the butter and the cooked spinach, mix and heat it through, cut into very small pieces. Move it to a large bowl, add the ricotta, the egg, half the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Gently mix to combine.
• Stuff each cannelloni tube with the ricotta mixture.
• Place 1/4-1/3 cup (50-60 grams) of white sauce on the bottom of a medium/large (10 inch/27 cm rectangle) baking pan, place the stuffed cannelloni tubes on top.
• Pour the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan cheese. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, raise the temperature to 425F (225C) or broil for about 5 minutes or until golden on top, let sit 5 minutes then serve. Enjoy!

LEEK, SPINACH AND RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• For the bechamel
• In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light golden.
• In another pot, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg, and set aside until ready to use.
• Makes about 4 cups
• The cannelloni and the filling
• Wash leeks, keeping only the tender white parts, and finely chop. Heat olive oil in a pan and lightly fry leeks and garlic until soft, taking care not to let them color, add the chopped spinach and parsley and let all the liquid evaporate. Let this mix cool and then mix in a bowl with ricotta and Parmesan.
• Season to taste.
• Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water. Place cooked cannelloni on wet paper towels. Spoon ricotta mixture on each cannelloni.
• Spoon some bechamel sauce on bottom of a baking dish. Arrange cannelloni in the dish and spread one the rest of the sauce on top. Season and bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 15 minutes. Serve straight from oven with more grated Parmesan.

RICH SPINACH AND LEEK LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with racks in middle and upper third. Divide leeks between two rimmed baking sheets. Toss each with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake until tender, 20 minutes, stirring leeks and rotating sheets halfway through. Let sheets cool on wire racks.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes. Add red pepper, parsley, and lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 3 minutes. Transfer spinach to a medium bowl.
• Spread 1 cup sauce in an 8-inch square baking dish. Top with 2 noodles. Layer with half the spinach, then 1 cup sauce and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Top with 2 more noodles, half the leeks, 1 cup sauce, and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Repeat layering with remaining ingredients, reserving the last 1/4 cup Parmesan. Cover lasagna loosely with foil and bake on top rack until sauce is bubbling, 35 to 40 minutes. (Place a rimmed baking sheet on middle rack to catch any drippings.) Remove lasagna from oven and heat broiler. Sprinkle with reserved Parmesan and broil until cheese is browned and bubbling, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes before slicing.

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.