We bring Italy inside with this easy cannelloni with spinach and ricotta. This casserole is vegetarian - and even too veg for whoever wants it - and thus fits perfectly on your greener shopping list. Bonus: children love it and spontaneously ask if they can have another serving of vegetables on their plates!
Cannelloni casserole
Cannelloni, the large pasta tubes that you can fill endlessly, are a real asset to your pantry. Stock up on them so you always have the basic ingredient for a delicious recipe. This Italian pasta, whose name is derived from the word ‘canna’ (cane), has been around for a long time and was even described in the nineteenth century. Although you can vary it endlessly - how about cannelloni filled with lentils, vegetarian minced meat and pumpkin - a favourite is still the traditional version with spinach and ricotta. It is very easy to make veg by using silken tofu instead of ricotta and vegetable grater instead of spreading cheese. Serve the dish with a fresh salad and a piece of home-baked sourdough bread, and you have a feast on the table without spending hours in the kitchen. And the kids love it. Bonus tip: for weekdays, it's also an ideal casserole to mealprepping. Make the dish in advance and store it in the fridge or freezer. This allows the flavours to soak in even better, making the dish even more delicious.
Tip to make cannelloni easier to fill if you don't have a piping bag: use a teaspoon to fill it and then the back of a tablespoon to firmly press the filling into the pasta tubes.
Cannelloni recipe with spinach and ricotta
Kitchenware
- colander
- frying pan
- baking dish
- come
- cutting board
- knife
- oven
Ingredients
- 8-10 cannelloni
- 1 pack of frozen spinach (about 400 gr)
- 250 gr ricotta 1 bowl (or silken tofu as a vegan alternative)
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 fluorescent nutmeg
- 1 el oregano
- 800 gr diced tomatoes 2 cans
- half a ball of mozzarella or vegan mozzarella, e.g. from nuts from Dream Farm
- 75 gr grated cheese or vegetable grater
- 2 el olive oil
Instructions
Prepare
- Defrost the frozen spinach or heat it in a pan until defrosted.
- Drain the frozen spinach in a colander. Press the spinach a little more with a spoon to get the excess moisture out.
- Chop the onion and finely chop the garlic. Fry the onion and garlic in a pan with a little oil until translucent. Add the diced tomatoes and season with salt, pepper and possibly some Italian herbs such as oregano.
- Mix the ricotta with the drained spinach and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Filling cannelloni and preparing casserole
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (hot air).
- Fill the cannelloni with the ricotta spinach mixture. This is easy to do with a piping bag or a small spoon. Put a big spoonful into the cannelloni each time and press it down. Continue this until the mixture comes out the other side.
- Cover the greased bottom of the baking dish with half the tomato sauce.
- Place the stuffed cannelloni on top and cover with the rest of the sauce.
- Slice the mozzarella and spread it over the dish. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top.
- Place the dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.
More recipe tips from thegreenlist.nl
- We briefly stay in Italy with This recipe for waste-me-not pizza.
- A surprising recipe with fresh spinach is This spicy spinach curry.
- Another easy child-friendly recipe are these stuffed peppers with jazwel, also spinach.
Sources: tumn.it. Photo credits: thegreenlist.nl.
