The Ultimate Easy to Prepare Vegetarian Recipes Cookbook - Cannelloni with Spinach, Tomato Sauce, and Béchamel

Ingredients:

Cannelloni Shells                    1 to 2 cups

Tomato Concassé Sauce         1 to 1 ½ cups (or a simple tomato sauce will do)

Onion, minced                                    2 tablespoons

Garlic, minced                         1 tablespoon

Milk                                         2 cups

Flour, sifted                            1 tablespoon

Butter                                      1 tablespoon

Bay leaf                                   1 leaf

Ricotta                                                1 to 2 cups (or enough to fill the cannelloni shells)

Spinach                                   1 to 2 cups

Parmesan, grated                     1/8 cup

Nutmeg                                   Season to taste

Salt                                          Season to taste

Pepper, white                          Season to taste                        

To Prepare:

Cannelloni isn’t as hard to prepare as it looks, especially since you can buy dry cannelloni. This recipe might not be something you want to do if you’re just cooking for yourself (unless you’re an avid home cook). But it will definitely come in handy when a few guests or relatives come over and you want to impress them with your cooking skills (think mother-in-law comes to town).

With a baked cannelloni dish, you don’t have to pre-cook the cannelloni. Instead, make sure you pre-heat your oven to 155°C.

Blanch the spinach by shocking it in boiling water. Make sure you squeeze out all of the excess liquid before chopping into large chunks. Peel, wash, and chop the onions and garlic finely.

Prepare the béchamel which is one of the classic sauces of French cuisine. The first thing to do is to cook the tablespoon of butter and tablespoon of flour in a sauce pan. When they are cooked until they look like mashed potatoes, add the milk and the bay leaf. Allow the mixture to simmer while stirring constantly until the consistency is right. For this recipe, let the béchamel sauce be a little runny because the pasta will cook in the oven and will need more liquid. Season the béchamel with a little nutmeg.

With a teaspoon, fill the cannelloni with a mixture of ricotta and spinach.

Prepare the baking dish by pouring some of the béchamel on the bottom. Place the cannelloni pasta on top of the sauce. Pour more of the béchamel on the cannelloni, essentially covering them then top with the tomato sauce. Sprinkle parmesan over the dish and place inside the oven at 155°C. Do not use high heat because the cannelloni will dry up. Test for doneness with a fork; the cannelloni should be soft through and through.

To serve the baked cannelloni, top with more parmesan and garnish with basil leaves. You need to try cooking this recipe at least once, you won’t regret it!

This is an excerpt from the book: The Ultimate Easy to Prepare Vegetarian Recipes Cookbook