Sunday, October 23, 2011

Spinach & Ricotta Canelloni

Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni
Would you like to know how to make this in record time with minimum fuss - read on.
You will need:
1.Fresh Lasagna sheets from the deli section (my pick is Latina) made with egg and thinner than a lot of other brands
2.Fresh ricotta in the basket
3.Frozen spinach for convenience(fresh is nice too)
4.Grated Romano Cheese
5.Grated cheddar & mozzorella cheese
6.Eggs
7.Nutmeg
8.Salt & Pepper
9.Tomato sugo (store bought or home made)
Method
1.Mix the ricotta eggs cheeses (leave a cup full of mixed cheeses aside to pop on the top of the dish before baking)
2.In this mix add the squeezed out spinach salt pepper nutmeg to form a paste like like mixture (Do not mix in a food processor)
3.Cut the pasta sheets to about lengths of 15cm long
4.Lay the mixture along one edge and roll the pasta over this to form a cylinder - put to one side and continue until the mixture is used
5.Using a low baking dish smear the bottom of the dish with olive oil and 1/2 cup of the sugo. (see below quick tip for easy homemade sugo)
6.Arrange the cannelloni in a row (don't cram them in too much)
7.Spoon remaining sugo over the top and and the sides of the dish to cover and moisten the cannelloni during baking.
8.Sprinkle with the remaining cheese Cover tightly with foil and bake at about 180c for 35minutes
The dish is ready when the cannelloni have risen

Tip: To keep the pasta from drying out during baking i like to water down the sugo and add around the outer edges of the dish. This helps the pasta to cook and absorb the tomato flavours
Tip:Make a huge batch of the cannelloni up to step 4. Gently place in a tupperware container with baking paper to seperate them and stop from sticking. Place in the freezer for up to 3 months. These can be used on a busy day popped into the baking dish with the sugo and on the table to eat within the hour
Home made sugo(Add a large can of chopped tomatoes to a some good olive oil (1/4 cup) basil oregano large spoon of tomato paste and garlic in a pot -let this slowly simmer on low for as long as you can for the flavours to develop-that's it-so easy)
Let me know how you go?