Cannelloni Two Ways Spinach Ricotta Beef Ragu Recipes

SPINACH & RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Put the spinach and a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over a low heat. Add the nutmeg, season with sea salt and black pepper, cover and leave to sweat. Help the kids to stir it occasionally until the spinach has cooked down. Place in a bowl and set to one side to cool a little.
• Dice the onion and squash the garlic. In the same pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil and gently sweat the onion until soft.
• Scrunch in the tomatoes through your clean hands and add the garlic and bay leaf. Pick in a few basil leaves and grate in the zest of the lemon half, then let it gently simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
• Have the kids squeeze the moisture out of the spinach into the bowl. Place the spinach on a board so you can chop it up. Return the spinach to the liquid in the bowl.
• Beat the egg and grate 2 teaspoons of Parmesan cheese. Get the kids to stir the ricotta, egg and Parmesan into the spinach. Season to taste.
• Sit a piping bag in a jug, fold its edges over the rim, then spoon in the spinach mixture. Have the kids help pipe the mixture into the cannelloni tubes and lay them in a 20cm x 25cm oven dish.
• Spread the tomato sauce over the cannelloni. Pick the remaining basil leaves and scatter most of them over the tomato sauce. Slice the mozzarella and lay the slices on top, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and season.
• Place in the oven and cook for 35 to 40 minutes or till the top is golden and the pasta tender (if the top browns too fast, cover the dish with foil). Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes before serving with the remaining basil leaves.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Finely chop the shallot and garlic and saute in a pan with a little olive oil for around 1-2 minutes until soft and translucent but not browned. Add the tomato passata (pureed tomatoes) with some torn basil leaves, salt and pepper and simmer for around 5 minutes, set aside.
• Add the washed raw, fresh spianch to a large pan and wilt on a medium heat. Add a splash of water (around 1 tbsp) to stop the spinach from burning and to help wilt it all. Leave to cool or rinse under cold water then squeeze out as much water as possible and finely chop.
• To make the spinach and ricotta filling, add the ricotta, parmesan, chopped spinach, egg, nutmeg and salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl and mix everything together until creamy and thoroughly combined.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350F/gas mark 4.
• To assemble the spinach and ricotta cannelloni, add a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce to the bottom of a large baking dish. Transfer the spinach and ricotta filling to a piping bag or a disposable freezer bag with the corner cut off and pipe the filling into the cannelloni pasta tubes. Add each filled cannelloni tube in an even layer in the baking dish.
• Top the cannelloni with the remaining tomato sauce then top with torn mozzarella and grated parmesan. Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes then uncovered for 10 minutes or until the cheese is golden and bubbling.

SPINACH RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 - 3 minutes until translucent. Add tomato, water, salt and pepper.
• Stir, reduce heat to medium, simmer for 5 minutes. Optional: add 1/2 cup water and blend sauce until smooth (I do this for guests!).
• Stir through basil or dried herbs. Set aside.
• Place spinach in a colander and press out most of the liquid (don't need to thoroughly squeeze dry).
• Place Spinach in bowl with remaining Filling ingredients. Mix, taste, adjust salt and pepper to taste (different cheeses have different saltiness).
• Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
• Choose a baking pan which will comfortably fit about 20 cannelloni - mine is 21 x 26 cm / 8.5 x 10.5".
• Spread a bit of Sauce on the base.
• Transfer Filling to a piping bag with a large nozzle (that fits in the tubes), or use a strong ziplock bag. Or do this step using a knife (it's a bit tedious though!).
• Pipe the filling into the tubes. Place in baking dish.
• Pour over remaining Sauce, covering all the tubes. Cover with foil, then bake for 25 minutes.
• Remove foil, scatter over cheese. Return to oven for 10 minutes until cheese is melted.
• Serve, garnished with extra basil if desired.

SPINACH & RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• First make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the garlic for 1 min. Add the sugar, vinegar, tomatoes and some seasoning and simmer for 20 mins, stirring occasionally, until thick. Add the basil and divide the sauce between 2 or more shallow ovenproof dishes (see Tips for freezing, below). Set aside. Make a sauce by beating the mascarpone with the milk until smooth, season, then set aside.
• Put the spinach in a large colander and pour over a kettle of boiling water to wilt it (you may need to do this in batches). When cool enough to handle squeeze out the excess water. Roughly chop the spinach and mix in a large bowl with 100g Parmesan and ricotta. Season well with salt, pepper and the nutmeg.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Using a piping bag or plastic food bag with the corner snipped off, squeeze the filling into the cannelloni tubes. Lay the tubes, side by side, on top of the tomato sauce and spoon over the mascarpone sauce. Top with Parmesan and mozzarella. You can now freeze the cannelloni, uncooked, or you can cook it first and then freeze. Bake for 30-35 mins until golden and bubbling. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 mins before serving.

CANNELLONI TWO WAYS (SPINACH RICOTTA & BEEF RAGU)

Steps:

• Make the beef ragu first, it's the longest step:.
• Heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme and bay leaf and sauté for a further 5 minutes until the onions and garlic are soft but not browned.
• Add the ground beef and sauté for 5 minutes until the beef is almost cooked through but still a bit pink. Stir in the red wine. Add the tomatoes with their juices and bring to a gentle simmer uncovered over medium to low heat, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour. Sauce should thicken. Remove bay leaf and thyme sprig and season to taste. Allow the ragu to cool before rolling it up in the lasagna sheets.
• Next make the tomato sauce:.
• Heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes or until tender. Add the thyme and bay leaf.
• Add the white wine and tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered over a medium to low heat, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or until the tomatoes break down to form a chunky sauce (you may need to add a little water during the cooking process if the sauce thickens too much). Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
• To make the spinach filling:.
• If you're using fresh spinach: rinse, drain, and do a quick blanch and squeeze out as much water as you can. If you're using frozen, just thaw and squeeze.
• In a large bowl, whisk the egg. Add ricotta cheese, spinach, cheese of your choice and fold it all in until well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Stick in refrigerator for now.
• To make the béchamel sauce:.
• Melt the butter over medium to low heat. Add the flour and stir until thick. Slowly add the milk and stir constantly until the sauce is smooth. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes or until the sauce is smooth and thick. Season the sauce to taste with a little nutmeg, salt and pepper.
• Now to assemble the cannelloni:.
• Bring a large sauce pan of salt water to a boil. Working in batches, add the lasagna sheets and cook until the sheets soften slightly (time will depend on what type you use).
• Transfer the lasagna sheets to a clean surface and let cool slightly.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F
• Spoon the tomato sauce over a 13x9" baking dish, covering the bottom. This is your base layer.
• Lay one lasagna sheet on a work surface. Spoon about 1/2 cup of the beef ragu or spinach filling over one end of the lasagna sheet. Roll up the lasagna sheet and place the cannelloni seam side down over the tomato sauce. Repeat with the remaining lasagna sheets and filling, forming 8 cannelloni total.
• Top with a thick layer of the béchamel sauce to coat the cannelloni completely. Top with parmesan cheese, creating a good layer of cheese over the sauce. Sprinkle some basil or thyme over the beef cannelloni to distinguish them from the spinach ones. Bake for 30 minutes or until the sauce bubbles and the cheese crusts/browns. Let the cannelloni stand for 10 minutes and serve.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA CANNELLONI/MANICOTTI (CANNELLONI RICOTTA E SPINACI)

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 F. Grease a medium baking dish with butter.
• Wash the spinach, discarding stems. Without draining the spinach, transfer it to a large pot and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until spinach wilts, about 10 minutes.
• Drain well in a fine-mesh strainer, pressing down on the cooked spinach with the bottom of a wooden spoon to squeeze out as much water as possible. Chop the cooked spinach finely and transfer it to a medium bowl.
• Stir in the ricotta, egg, 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt, and nutmeg. Mix well to combine.
• If using fresh pasta sheets: cook the sheets for 1 minute in boiling salted water, drain and immediately submerge in cold water; let sit in the cold water for a few minutes, then remove and let dry on a clean kitchen towel or large wooden cutting board.
• Place a spoonful of filling close to the short end of the pasta sheet and roll up lengthwise to form a cannelloni. Repeat with the remaining pasta sheets.
• If using dry cannelloni noodles, cook according to package directions, drain and submerge in cold water. Drain well.
• Fill each tube evenly with the spinach-cheese mixture using a small spoon.
• Spoon one ladleful of bechamel sauce evenly over the bottom of the baking dish. Transfer the filled cannelloni to the baking dish in a single layer. Cover evenly with the remaining bechamel sauce, then sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Distribute small pieces of butter evenly over the surface.
• Bake until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest 5 minutes before serving.

BEEF AND SPINACH CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Saute beef in garlic, tomato and onion in oil and butter. Season with salt and pepper. Add ham. Cook until meat is tender. Set aside. Let cool for ten minutes.
• Once cool, mix in egg and flour. Stuff uncooked cannelloni with beef mixture. Set aside.
• Using the pan used for the beef mixture, pour in tomato sauce and milk. Simmer for five minutes.
• In a greased pyrex dish, layer the spinach, pour about 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce mixture. Lay down cannellonis giving a 1/4 inch-space in between each piece. Add a final layer of spinage, Pour over the rest of the tomato sauce mixture. Top with cheese.
• Bake in a preheated oven (160 c) for an hour.
• Garnish with fresh herbs. Serve with your favorite toast or side salad.