Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni
A vegetarian Italian cannelloni dish featuring a spinach-ricotta filling, layered with tomato and mascarpone sauces, baked until bubbling and golden.
Steps
- 1
Make the tomato sauce: heat olive oil in a large pan and fry garlic for 1 minute.
- 2
Add caster sugar, red wine vinegar, chopped tomatoes, and season; simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thick.
- 3
Add basil leaves and divide the sauce between two or more shallow ovenproof dishes; set aside.
- 4
Make a mascarpone sauce by beating mascarpone with milk until smooth; season and set aside.
- 5
Wilt the spinach: boil in a large pot of water until tender, then drain. Squeeze out excess liquid and roughly chop.
- 6
Combine the spinach with Parmesan (total 185 g) and ricotta; season well with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
- 7
Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan/gas 6). Using a piping bag or plastic bag, fill the cannelloni tubes with the spinach-ricotta filling.
- 8
Lay the tubes on top of the tomato sauce, spoon over the mascarpone sauce, and top with Parmesan and mozzarella.
- 9
You can freeze the cannelloni before cooking, or bake immediately. Bake for 30–35 minutes until golden and bubbling, then rest 5 minutes before serving.
