Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni with Giuseppe Crupi

Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni Masterclass with Giuseppe Crupi

Giuseppe Crupi will teach you how to make a Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni.

It is a simple dish and if you don’t have time to make fresh pasta you can buy cannelloni pasta shells. The easiest way to fill the dry cannelloni tubes is to fill a large disposable piping bag with the filling mix, trim of the tip, then squeeze the filling into the dry pasta tubes.

This baked cannelloni dish is actually better served the next day so it’s a great make-ahead meal. The ingredient amounts in this video is to make a larger dish that will serve about 6 people but Giuseppe demonstrates the method with a smaller dish, so if you’re following the amounts shown, make sure to use a large baking dish rather than the size he’s using in the video.

You can catch up on Giuseppe’s previous episodes on how to make your own pasta with Giuseppe’s Pasta Masterclass over here , Tagliatelle all’Amatriciana here and why not check out his delicious Gnocchi al Pesto here.

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Ingredients:

Pasta dough:

• 100g semolina flour
• 400g 00′ flour
• 5 eggs
• Extra virgin olive oil

The filling:

• 250g ricotta cheese
• 250g spinach
• Salt
• Nutmeg
• Parmigiano

Tomato sauce:

• 1 litre tomato passata
• 1 medium sized onion
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt
• Mozzarella
• Parmigiano

Method:

The dough:

1. Place the flour in a mound on a smooth work area. Creating a well in the centre. Pour the eggs into the well. Slowly pull the flour into the eggs until it is all incorporated. Add a spoon of extra virgin olive oil. Finish kneading by hand. Let the dough rest for about 1 hour in fridge, wrapped in cling film.
2. If you don’t have time to make fresh pasta you can buy cannelloni pasta shells. The easiest way to fill the dry cannelloni tubes is to fill a large disposable piping bag with the filling mix, trim of the tip, then squeeze the filling into the dry pasta tubes.

The filling:

1. In a bowl combine mascarpone cheese, spinach, parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt, a pinch of nutmeg.

The sauce:

1. Fry the finely sliced onion in extra virgin olive oil over a low flame until they became translucent.
2. Add peeled tomatoes and some basil leaves
3. Simmer until all water is absorbed and the colour of the sauce is dark orange (about 40 min.)
4. Remove from heat and mix with a hand blender

The cannelloni:

1. Divide the pasta in small pieces and put through a pasta roller until thin, many times from number 6 to number 1 setting on the machine. Use the semolina to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands while working.
2. Roll out as many sheets of pasta as possible.
3. Place 2 spoons of filling over the layer, roll the pasta over and cut it.
4. Put 3-4 tablespoons of tomato sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Place the cannelloni one close to the other (just one layer) and cover them with the tomato sauce. Add  some grated parmesan cheese and cook in the oven at 190 degrees for about 45 minutes.

About Giuseppe: