Spinach Nutmeg Cannelloni Recipes

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.

MEAT AND SPINACH CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Pour the hot stock over the porcini in a small heatproof bowl. Let stand until softened, about 20 minutes. Drain the porcini, reserving the liquid. Rinse the porcini to remove sand and grit, and strain the soaking liquid through a coffee filter or a double thickness of cheesecloth. Reserve the mushrooms and liquid separately.
• Preheat the oven to 400° F. Cut the pork into 2-inch pieces and place them in a roasting pan large enough to hold them comfortably. Add the carrots, celery, onion, rosemary leaves, and the reserved porcini. Season lightly with salt, drizzle 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over all, and toss well. Pour in the wine. Roast until the wine has evaporated and the meat begins to brown, about 25 minutes. Continue roasting, adding 1/2 cup of the reserved mushroom-soaking liquid every 15 minutes or so, until the meat and vegetables are well browned and the meat is tender, about 2 hours. At the end of the roasting, there should be about 1 1/2 cups of liquid in the roasting pan. Drain the meat and vegetables, reserving the liquid. Toss the mortadella in with the meats and vegetables and cool to room temperature.
• Meanwhile, in a wide skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Whack the garlic with the flat side of a knife, add it to the oil, and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Add as much spinach as will fit comfortably into the pan. Continue cooking, stirring and adding the remaining spinach a large handful at a time when the spinach in the pan wilts enough to make room, until all the spinach is added. Season lightly with salt and pepper and cook until all the spinach is wilted and tender. Remove from the heat.
• Make the béchamel sauce.
• Pass the meat-and-vegetable mixture through a meat grinder fitted with a disc with holes about 1/4 inch in diameter. Stir in 1/4 cup of the grated cheese and 1/2 cup of the béchamel sauce, blending the filling well as you do. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Beat the eggs until foamy, then stir them into the ground-meat mixture.
• Preheat the oven to 375° F. Ladle about 3/4 cup of the béchamel sauce in an even layer over the bottom of each of two 13 × 9-inch baking dishes. Spoon 1/3 cup of the filling in a more or less even mound along one edge of one of the pasta squares. Roll up into a tube, pressing and evening out the tube as you roll. Arrange the cannelloni into the prepared baking dish, side by side and seam side down. Divide the remaining béchamel evenly between the two baking dishes, smoothing it into an even layer over the cannelloni. Drizzle about three-quarters of the reserved meat-cooking liquid over the cannelloni, dividing it evenly. Sprinkle the tops with 1 cup of the grated cheese. Cover the dishes with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes. Uncover the baking dishes and bake until the tops are golden brown and bubbling, about 20 minutes. If the tops are browning unevenly, rotate the baking dishes from side to side and shelf to shelf, then continue baking. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Lift the cannelloni to warm plates with a spatula and spoon some of the sauce over each serving. Pass additional grated cheese if you like.

CANNELLONI WITH SPINACH AND MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• Cook cannelloni tubes according to package direction; drain and set aside to cool.
• SAUCE--------------.
• In a medium size saucepan, heat olive oil on medium-high heat.
• Add chopped onion and saute' until just softened, about 4 minutes.
• Add chopped mushrooms and continue to saute' for another 3 minutes.
• Stir in tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, basil, parsley and water and bring to boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• FILLING--------------.
• In another medium-size saucepan, melt margarine or butter on medium heat.
• Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute mixing continuously.
• DO NOT BURN OR LET THE FLOUR GO LUMPY.
• Gradually stir in milk and cook on medium heat, stirring continuously until a smooth and thick sauce is formed.
• Stir in Ricotta cheese and Parmesan cheese, and continue to cook until the cheese has melted.
• Remove from heat and stir in drained, chopped spinach, beaten egg, ground nutmeg and salt.
• Carefully stuff each pre-cooked cannelloni tube with spinach mixture using a small spoon; set aside.
• CAREFUL NOT TO SPLIT THE COOKED TUBES.
• Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.
• In a 9" x 9" oven-proof casserole dish, spoon 2/3 of the sauce mixture over the bottom.
• Place stuffed tubes in a single layer into the sauce.
• Spoon remainder of the sauce over the tubes.
• Sprinkle with grated Mozzarella cheese and grated Parmesan cheese.
• Tightly cover with aluminum foil; place in preheated 350 F oven and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove aluminum foil and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes or until sauce is bubbling and a nice golden crust forms.
• Serve hot.

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.

CANNELLONI WITH SPINACH, RAISINS AND PINE NUTS

Steps:

• If using fresh spinach, rinse but do not drain. Cook, covered in a large saucepan over medium heat in the water clinging to the leaves, till wilted, about 4-5 minutes, stirring a few times.
• Transfer the spinach to a colander and drain, when cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess moisture. finely chop the spinach. (if using frozen, thaw and press out excess moisture).
• Heat 2 T of the olive oil in a large skillet over low heat.
• Add the garlic, pine nuts, raisins and ham, if using, and cook till the pine nuts and garlic are golden, 3-5 minutes.
• Add the chopped spinach and cook for about 1 minute, stirring to distribute all the ingredients evenly.
• Season the spinach with salt and pepper to taste, transfer it to a bowl and set aside.
• Melt the butter with the remaining 1 T olive oil in a heavy, medium sized saucepan over medium low heat.
• Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking for about 2 minutes.
• Add the milk in a steady stream, and bring to a boil over high heat, whisking constantly.
• Reduce the heat to low and simmer, whisking occasionally, till the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Set about 1/2 cup of the spinach mixture aside.
• To finish off the filling, stir 2/3 cup of the sauce into the remaining spinach, set the rest of the sauce aside.
• Preheat oven to 400°F; lightly butter a 12x9 gratin dish or shallow ceramic baking dish.
• Bring 5-6 quarts water to a boil over high heat.
• Place a large bowl of ice water next to the pot.
• Working in two batches, boil the sheets of pasta, stirring to separate them, till al dente - about 2 minutes for fresh pasta and about 6 minutes for no boil lasagna noodles.
• Using tongs, transfer the noodles to the ice water to stop the cooking.
• Lift the noodles from the water, shaking off excess and lay them flat on a dry linen towel.
• Repeat with the remaining pasta, bringing the water back to a rolling boil before adding the second batch.
• Pat the pasta dry with paper towels before filling it.
• Place about 1/4 cup of the spinach filling close to one end of a noodle (if using lasagna, use the long end), shaping it into a compact log.
• Starting with a long end, roll up the noodle, then cut it in half crosswise.
• Place the filled noodles seam side down in the prepared dish.
• Repeat with remaining noodles and filling.
• The filled noodles should fit snugly in a single layer.
• Stir the reserved 1/2 cup of spinach and any of the filling you may have left over into the served sauce and spread evenly over the cannelloni.
• Sprinkle the cheese evenly on top.
• Bake till the cannelloni are hot and the top is browned and bubbly, about 25 minutes.
• If you'd like the top more browned, pass the dish under the broiler for a few minutes.
• Let cool for a few minutes then serve straight from the baking dish.