Cooking: Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

I left it right till the end of the month, mainly out of being lazy.. but managed to get myself to cook again. I couldn't decide what to make, but Ashlea gave me the idea of Spinach and Ricotta Cennelloni. I have never made, nor heard of it before... so I thought I would give it a go.

Recipe:

2 knobs of butter

2 cloves of garlic

Dried oregano

3 normal bags of spinach

Fresh basil

2 tins of chopped plum tomatoes

400g ricotta cheese

Parmesan cheese (four handfulls)

20 canneloni tubes

200g grated mozzarella cheese

500ml crème fraiche

1) Put sauce pan on high heat, with butter, oil, oregano and one chopped clove of garlic, until the garlic is soft.

2) Place all spinach in the pan, handful at a time, until it has condensed down into a spinachy mush.

3) Place the spinach into a bowl and leave to cool.

4) Put the pan back on heat, with a bit more oil and another chopped clove of garlic.

5) Add the two tins of chopped tomatoes and basil. Fill one of the tins with water and add this too. Bring to the boil, add salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar, then lower the heat and simmer until most water goes and it becomes a tomato sauce.

6) While you wait for step 5 to finish, once the spinach has cooled grab it into a ball and squeeze out the excess water back into the bowl. Put the spinach onto a chopping board and chop it throughout.

7) Place the spinach back into the bowl (with the spinach water), and add all the ricotta and a handful of Parmesan and mix together.

8) Push the mixture into the cannelloni tubes until they are fully stuffed.

9) By now the tomato sauce should be finished. Place this on the bottom of a baking tray. Place the stuffed cannelloni tubes on top.

10) Mix together the crème fraiche and two handfuls of Parmesan cheese. No heat is needed. Add a bit of salt and pepper, and add water until it is loose enough to spoon over the cannelloni tubes.

11) Sprinkle with handful of Parmesan and the grated mozzarella.

12) Place in the oven, 180 degrees (gas mark 4) for 20-25 minutes.

Verdict: Although I stupidly waited for 5 to finish before starting 6 (which added ages), it turned out really nice! Everyone seemed to like it. The tomato and cheese sauces were really nice. There was more than enough for 4 people.