Best Spinach Three Cheese Cannelloni Recipes

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 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.

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.