Baked Ricotta and Spinach Cannelloni with Tomato and Bechamel

What you need

• 12 dried cannelloni tubes, no pre-cooking needed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 400 g (14 oz) canned chopped tomatoes
• 6 leaves fresh basil, torn
• 50 g (4 tbsp) butter
• 50 g (6 tbsp) plain flour
• 600 ml (2 1/2 cups) whole milk
• 400 g (14 oz) fresh spinach, washed
• 250 g (9 oz) ricotta
• 1 large egg
• 60 g (2 oz) Parmesan, finely grated, divided
• 1 pinch nutmeg, freshly grated
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, freshly ground, to taste

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F).

2. 2

   Warm the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion until soft, 6-8 min. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min.

3. 3

   Add the tomatoes with 100 ml of water. Simmer for 20 min, stirring now and then, until thick. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the basil off the heat.

4. 4

   Melt the butter in a second saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 min. Pour in the milk a little at a time, whisking, until smooth.

5. 5

   Simmer the white sauce for 6-8 min until it coats a spoon. Season with salt and a pinch of nutmeg.

6. 6

   Put the spinach in a large pot with the lid on over medium heat. Cook until wilted, 2-3 min. Cool, then squeeze out all the liquid and chop finely.

7. 7

   Mix the spinach with the ricotta, egg, half of the Parmesan, a pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper.

8. 8

   Spoon the filling into a piping bag or a freezer bag with a corner cut off. Pipe it into the tubes.

9. 9

   Spread a few spoonfuls of white sauce over the base of a baking dish. Lay the tubes in a single layer.

10. 10

    Pour the rest of the white sauce over the tubes, covering them completely. Spoon a stripe of tomato sauce down the middle and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.

11. 11

    Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 min. Remove the foil and bake until golden and bubbling, 15 min more.

12. 12

    Rest for 10 min before serving.

Imported from elizabethskitchendiary.co.uk. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.