Bella Italia: Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni Recipe

Bella Italia reveals their recipe for delicious Cannelloni pasta tubes filled with creamy and light spinach and ricotta filling. Baked with a delicious tomato sauce and lots of melted mozzarella on top. For veggie lovers and a family favourite; you can’t go wrong with this recipe. 

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INGREDIENTS (Serves 4)

500g Spinach
Dash of olive oil
¼ tsp Ground nutmeg
½ Onion
2 Cloves of garlic
2 x 400g Tinned
plum tomatoes and 1tbsp Tomato puree
1 Bay leaf
½ Bunch of fresh basil
½ Lemon (zest only)
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese (divided in half)
250g Ricotta Cheese
1 Large free-range egg
250g Mascarpone (divided in half)
2 x 125g Buffalo mozzarella balls
150g Cannelloni (about 14 tubes)

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Put the spinach and drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over low heat.
2. Add the nutmeg, season with salt and pepper, and cover stirring occasionally until the spinach has cooked down. Once cooked place in a bowl and allow it to cool.
3. Dice the onion, finely chop the garlic and gently sweat them together in the same pan used for the spinach.
4. Add the tomatoes and tomato puree and break down with a spoon. Add the bay leaf. Pick and add a few basil leaves and simmer gently for 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Season to taste.
5. Squeeze any moisture out of the spinach into a bowl, and chop it up on a board. Once chopped add it back to the bowl with liquid.
6. Add the zest of ½ lemon, ricotta, the first half of mascarpone, egg and 1 tbsp of parmesan into the spinach. Season to taste.
7. Fill a piping bag with the spinach mixture and pipe into the cannelloni tubes. Lay them in an oven dish about 20cmx25cm.
8. Cover the cannelloni with the tomato sauce, spoon over the rest of the mascarpone and add the remaining basil leaves. Add the rest of the parmesan and slice the mozzarella into slices and lay them on top with a drizzle of olive oil and seasoning.
9. Place it in the oven and cook for 35-40mins or until golden on top (and the pasta must be tender). Let it stand for 5 minutes and scatter few basil leaves over for garnish.

Enjoy!

Click HERE for more Bella Italia recipes.