Tender pasta tubes stuffed with creamy ricotta and silverbeet, baked in a rich tomato sauce and topped with golden mozzarella. I like using a silverbeet (or spinach) and ricotta filling with a little bit of nutmeg to lift everything without overpowering it.
Category
Dinner
Servings
4
Prep time
30 minutes
Cook time
1 hour
Tender pasta tubes stuffed with creamy ricotta and silverbeet, baked in a rich tomato sauce and topped with golden mozzarella. I like using a silverbeet (or spinach) and ricotta filling with a little bit of nutmeg to lift everything without overpowering it.
Ingredients
- 250g dried cannelloni shells
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, smashed
- 700ml passata
- 1 sprig basil
- 150g mozzarella, thinly sliced
- 1 small bunch silverbeet (approx 500g) or baby spinach
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 300g fresh ricotta
- 50g parmesan cheese, finely grated
- fresh nutmeg
- sea salt and black pepper
Ricotta filling
Directions
Prep the filling
Trim the greens from the white stems of the silverbeet. Finely dice the stems and roughly chop the leaves.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add the silverbeet stems and cook for 4 minutes, until softened. Stir in the leaves, some freshly grated nutmeg (¼), a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Continue cooking until just wilted (max 3 minutes). Remove from the heat, spread out on a tray and allow to cool (can place in the fridge to cool down faster).
- In a bowl, break up the ricotta and then add parmesan, small pinch of salt and a little more grated nutmeg.
- Mix in the silverbeet, then check your seasoning.
Cook the sauce
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic cloves and allow to infuse the oil for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the passatta, then add a little water to the jar to mix with the remaining sauce and pour in too. Stir to combine, season with salt and add the basil. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
Fill the cannelloni
Transfer ricotta filling to a piping bag and snip the end large enough to fit inside the cannelloni shells. Pipe the filling into the shells filling all the way from end to end. Use both ends to fill the cannelloni.
- Spoon some of the tomato sauce into the base of a 24cm square baking dish (2.6qt capacity) and spread to just cover the base.
- Place in the cannelloni shells, fitting snugly side by side in a single layer. Pour over the remaining sauce.
- Top with the mozzarella slices then loosely cover the dish with foil.
Bake and serve
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan forced (355°F). Bake the cannelloni for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake a further 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is golden.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then serve cannelloni garnished with some extra basil, or a side salad if you like.
Recipe notes
Origins
Modern day cannelloni, meaning “tube” or “reed” has its origins in the early 1900s in Italy, but the concept of stuffed pasta dates back to the 18th century with recipes for “maccheroni ripieni”.
Cook support
I start cooking the sauce at the same time I’m prepping the filling to speed up the cook.
Spray a little olive oil spray on the underside of the foil before covering the oven dish to avoid the cheese sticking to the foil during baking.
Sourcing
If you don’t have fresh nutmeg on hand you can use a pinch of ground nutmeg instead.
Substitutions
If using baby spinach instead of silverbeet, simply add the leaves whole to the oil in the saucepan and saute until just wilted, then set aside to cool.
Storage
The cannelloni can be portioned and refrigerated in airtight containers for up to 5 days.
Serving ideas
Add a green salad or some steamed greens to round out this meal.
