Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

One recipe I've been making for a long time is cannelloni - so cheesy and delicious. It takes a little work but, thanks to no-boil pasta tubes, it's pretty fun. It's actually quite easy - but it looks like more work than it actually is. Perfect for impressing people, which is why it's a potluck staple. I loosely follow the Broccoli and Ricotta Cannelloni recipe from my old copy of Best Ever Vegetarian. Mine is much more simplified, however.

The recipe calls for fresh breadcrumbs. I always skipped this and used the dry, store-bought kind. But lo and behold, I looked in my cupboard and my panko bag was empty! So I googled quite a few ways to quickly make your own. I ended up toasting four slices of french bread in the oven for 20 minutes @250, then putting them in my mini-chopper. I ended up with a mix of fine, dry crumbs and chunks of bread. Which worked fine, so all was well. Place them in a large bowl, and stir in 1/2 cup milk and 2 Tbsp olive oil. Stir until soft, then add 1 300g tub of ricotta cheese, 4 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.

Meanwhile, defrost one package of frozen spinach in the microwave. Squeeze dry with your hands (you don't want all that green, foamy water in your filling...) and mix into the cheese. Try not to snack on it - I always end up sneaking some spoonfuls while I'm filling those little tubes. I usually make quite a mess, though, as I don't use the suggested piping bag. I found it works well if you put the tubes vertical then drop in small spoonfuls of cheese. Once they are filled, place them in a well-greased 9x13" pan - but add a layer of tomato sauce on the bottom first. Then drench those cannelloni in as much sauce as you have!

The no-boil cannelloni must be completely covered or they won't cook properly, so be liberal with the sauce. I used a sauce that already had cheese in it, so I didn't grate more on top - but you definitely can. Bake @350 for about 35 minutes - or until the pasta is cooked. Then try not to eat too many at one sitting - very difficult indeed! It's hard to beat the combination of pasta, tomato sauce and cheese. The filling is a bit sweet and fruity from the nutmeg and olive oil - it will work well with whatever sauce you use. Impress you friends at your next dinner party or just make a tray and keep it in the fridge for quick dinners.