Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni with Tomato and Red Pepper Sauce
Prep time: 30 minutes / Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
Easy & fun recipe to make whilst also being something quite special. Perfect when you have a dinner party as you can prepare it ahead and just finish cooking while your guests arrive. Cannelloni is essentially a type of pasta in the shape of a large tube. You can stuff the cannelloni with different fillings (meat or vegetarian), cover with a sauce (tomato or white sauce) and then just bake in the oven. Get the children to give you a hand filling the cannelloni pasta tubes, their little fingers will come in quite handy! This cannelloni dish would be lovely served with a side salad & some garlic bread too if you are feeling extra indulgent.
INGREDIENTS:
Cannelloni
12 cannelloni tubes
300g spinach, washed & drained
250g ricotta
Tomato sauce
2tbsp vegetable oil
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
800g chopped tomatoes
250ml water
Salt & pepper to taste
METHOD:
1. Pre heat the oven to 160c
2. Cook the spinach: Put a saucepan onto the stove at a medium heat, allow to heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach and cover with a lid. Cook for 1 minute until the spinach is wilted. This may be done in stages depending on the size of your saucepan. Once all is cooked, put in a bowl and keep aside to cool down.
3. Make the tomato sauce: Using the same saucepan, on a medium heat add 2 tablespoons of oil. Fry the diced onion & red pepper for 8-10 minutes, then add the crushed garlic and chopped fresh tomatoes. Cook for a further 2 minutes.
4. Add the tinned chopped tomatoes and water, reduce to a low heat and cook for 15 – 20 minutes. Switch off the heat at this point! The tomato sauce should still be relatively runny.
5. Make the cannelloni filling: using your hands gently squeeze any excess water from the cooked spinach and dispose of the liquid. Finely chop the spinach and place into a mixing bowl. Add the ricotta cheese, salt & pepper & mix well until all is combined.
6. To fill the cannelloni, slowly spoon the mixture into the tubes with a teaspoon. This can be achieved by using the handle end of the teaspoon to push the ricotta mixture inside. Each cannelloni tube will take 2-3 teaspoons of mix to fill.
7. Place each cannelloni once filled into a greased deep oven dish.
8. Carefully pour the tomato sauce over the cannelloni and bake in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes or until the pasta is tender.
TIPS
Extra cheese – A sprinkling of cheddar cheese for the last 10 minutes of baking, would add an extra indulgence.
Piping the mix- The cannelloni filling process can be made much easier with a piping bag. Simply fill the piping back, snip the end and pipe into the tubes!
Personal preference – Tomato sauces can benefit massively from a touch of aspic (equal amounts of vinegar and sugar), if using boil the vinegar to dissolve the sugar and add to the finished tomato sauce to taste.
Extra vegetables – The addition of extra vegetables can be added to the tomato sauce, either pureed or finely chopped. You could use any vegetable, preferably green. The adding of the likes of carrot or butternut squash bring a nice sweetness to the tomatoes.
Different filling – The sky is the limited when it comes to cannelloni, whatever flavours are loved in the household can be accommodated. Have this be different vegetables or the addition of meat. In addition the tomato sauce can be substituted for a simple béchamel sauce.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Nutrition per serving, based on 4 servings per recipe with no added salt:
Spinach is rich in iron which may help maintain high energy levels, to make the most of its nutrients is best to cook it lightly or wilt it.
Pasta is a great carbohydrate, which means that as part of a healthy diet it can provide us with energy.
Tomato – One tomato can contain 40% of our daily recommended intake of vitamin C!
Garlic: garlic is such a fantastic and tasty ingredient with so many health benefits! It can help combat sickness, reduce blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels. Recent research has even suggested it could help prevent Alzheimer’s disease!
Onions – these are members of the nightshade family which are anti-inflammatory and have been shown to reduce levels of cholesterol in our bodies, helping with high blood pressure and protecting against disease.
Ricotta is a type of fresh Italian cheese, it has a soft & creamy texture and sometimes is compared to a lighter version of cottage cheese. It is a good source of protein & calcium.
