Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni

Perhaps another idea for Christmas. For the ones who are not so fond of meat and like delicious, but light meals. What made me think of this one as a Christmas dish?

Perhaps it’s the colors – red and green. Perhaps it’s the fact that you can prepare it in advance and then just pop it in the oven half an hour before serving. This will give you plenty of time to relax, entertain your guests and just enjoy instead of running around frantically in your kitchen. And it is a one-pan-dish, which means you can clean up your kitchen in advance and less mess is less stress!

This recipe is largely inspired by and based on Jamie Oliver’s Awesome Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni. I made only a few adjustments and simplified it here and there. I like keeping it simple!

U need (serves 4-6)

olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
2 teaspoons of dried oregano

¼ of a nutmeg, grated

500 grams of frozen spinach

a handful of fresh basil leaves, ripped

2 x 400g tins of good-quality plum tomatoes, chopped

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

a pinch of sugar

500 grams of ricotta cheese

3 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

20 cannelloni tubes

200 grams of mozzarella, broken up

for the béchamel sauce

3 tablespoons of all purpose flour
50 grams of butter
300 ml of (hot) milk

How to make it

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Then find a metal baking tray or ovenproof dish that will fit the cannelloni in one layer so it's nice and snug. This way you'll get the right cover of sauce and the right amount of crispiness on top. Take a saucepan, put it on a low heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Add the frozen spinach and let it defrost on a low heat with the lid closed. Once it is defrosted, add two of the sliced garlic cloves, the oregano and half of the grated nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Mix it around and let it bubble gently.

After 10 minutes, put the spinach into a large bowl and leave to cool. Place the pan back on the heat, add a little olive oil, the other cloves of sliced garlic and the tomatoes, then fill one of the empty tomato tins with cold water and add this too. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down, add a pinch of salt and pepper and the sugar, and simmer for about 10 minutes, until you get a loose tomato sauce consistency. Then take the pan off the heat and add the basil leaves.

By now the spinach will have cooled down. Mix in the ricotta and 2 handfuls of the parmesan, and then use a piping bag to squeeze the mixture into the cannelloni. You can also use a spoon to put the spinach into the cannelloni. (Tip: you can make your own piping bag by getting a sandwich bag and putting the spinach mix into the corner of it. Then twist the bag up and cut the corner off.) All you need to make sure of is that you fill the cannelloni well with the ricotta and spinach mix, so it's not all full of air.

Pour the tomato sauce into your ovenproof dish and lay the cannelloni on top. To make the béchamel sauce, dissolve the 50 grams of butter in a small pan on a low heat, mix in the flour until you obtain a smooth texture. Heat up the milk and slowly add it to the mixture while stirring. As soon as you obtain a smooth sauce, season with salt and pepper and add the rest of the grated nutmeg. Turn off the heat. Spoon the béchamel sauce over the cannelloni. Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan and the mozzarella pieces, and bake for about 25 minutes until golden and bubbling.

And the lovely thing about it is that it goes crispy and golden on top, but remains soft and moist at the bottom. You'll love it!