Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni is my eldest daughter’s favourite meal. Being a classic Italian dish, the flavour comes from simple ingredients put together with love and care . This recipe is relatively easy to make however there are multiple steps which makes it a good one to do on a lazy afternoon. Finished product pic yet to come, we got distracted and started eating!

Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

Ingredients for the filling

• 375g spinach (I use frozen)
• 350g fresh ricotta
• 2 eggs
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 75g cheese grated (about 1/3 cup)
• 1/4 nutmeg grated (or 1/4 tsp nutmeg)

Ingredients for the Napoli sauce

• 1 Tb olive oil
• 1 spanish onion
• 1/2 carrot finely chopped (optional)
• 1 celery stalk finely chopped (optional)
• 3 x 400g cans crushed tomatoes
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp dried oregano (or basil)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 x 400g cans water (approximately 3 cups)

Extra Ingredients

• 1/2 cup grated cheese
• 2 cups pumpkin cut into cubes (optional)
• chicken breast cubed (if using chicken I like to pan fry the chicken first just so I am not relying on the baking process to cook the chicken)

Method

1. Heat oven to 180oC
2. Sauce: Heat a pan and cook Spanish onion in olive oil on medium heat until translucent.
3. Add crushed tomatoes, salt, oregano and water and allow to simmer while you are preparing the filling.
4. Filling: In a bowl combine all ingredients for filling and mash together.
5. Add a cup of the Napoli sauce to the bottom of the tray to prevent cannelloni from sticking.
6. Fill cannelloni shells with the filling and lay inside a lined baking tray with enough space for them to spread out as they cook. (I use two aluminium foil BBQ trays)
7. If using roasted pumpkin and or chicken sprinkle over the filled cannelloni shells then cover with the remainder of the Napoli sauce.
8. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 40 mins or until cannelloni shells are cooked through and cheese is golden.

**I seem to have forgotten to photograph the finished product… Perhaps because once this dish came out of the oven the kids were all over it haha. Finished product pic to come.