Best Green Canneloni Stuffed With Ricotta Cheese And Spinach Recipes

SPINACH RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 - 3 minutes until translucent. Add tomato, water, salt and pepper.
• Stir, reduce heat to medium, simmer for 5 minutes. Optional: add 1/2 cup water and blend sauce until smooth (I do this for guests!).
• Stir through basil or dried herbs. Set aside.
• Place spinach in a colander and press out most of the liquid (don't need to thoroughly squeeze dry).
• Place Spinach in bowl with remaining Filling ingredients. Mix, taste, adjust salt and pepper to taste (different cheeses have different saltiness).
• Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
• Choose a baking pan which will comfortably fit about 20 cannelloni - mine is 21 x 26 cm / 8.5 x 10.5".
• Spread a bit of Sauce on the base.
• Transfer Filling to a piping bag with a large nozzle (that fits in the tubes), or use a strong ziplock bag. Or do this step using a knife (it's a bit tedious though!).
• Pipe the filling into the tubes. Place in baking dish.
• Pour over remaining Sauce, covering all the tubes. Cover with foil, then bake for 25 minutes.
• Remove foil, scatter over cheese. Return to oven for 10 minutes until cheese is melted.
• Serve, garnished with extra basil if desired.

SPINACH RICOTTA STUFFED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F°.
• In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, spinach, onion, egg, garlic, Italian seasoning, nutmeg, salt, pepper, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese.
• Spread about 1 cup of the marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9x13-inch casserole dish.
• Transfer the filling to a piping bag or plastic ziploc bag, cut off a little from one end, this will make it easier for stuffing the shells.
• Stuff each manicotti shell with ricotta mixture and arrange in a single layer in the dish. Cover with remaining sauce. There should be enough sauce to fully cover the manicotti.
• Top with remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.
• Transfer the dish to the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour covered, then 15-20 minutes uncovered, or until the noodles are soft.
• Serve garnished with basil if preferred and more grated Parmesan cheese.

SPINACH-RICOTTA STUFFED SHELLS

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large wide pot over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, oregano, red pepper flakes, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until thickened, 15 to 20 minutes; season with salt. (You should have about 4 heaping cups of sauce.)
• Make the stuffed shells: Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta shells and cook as the label directs for baking, about 9 minutes. Rinse under cold water to stop the cooking. Spread out on a baking sheet.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and cook, tossing occasionally, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to a large plate lined with a kitchen towel. Squeeze to remove any excess liquid, then finely chop.
• Put the spinach in a large bowl and add the ricotta, mozzarella, parsley, Parmesan, lemon zest, beaten egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir until combined.
• To assemble, spread about half of the sauce in the bottom of a 10-by-14-inch baking dish. Evenly fill the shells with the spinach-ricotta mixture using a spoon, or pipe it in using a pastry bag. Arrange the shells side by side, open-side up, in the baking dish on top of the sauce, then top with the remaining sauce.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake until heated through and the sauce is simmering around the edges, about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until any shells or cheese poking through the sauce are lightly browned in spots, about 10 more minutes. Let sit 10 minutes. Top with more Parmesan and red pepper flakes.

STUFFED SHELLS FILLED WITH SPINACH AND RICOTTA

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt generously. Fill a bowl with ice water. Blanch the spinach for no more than 20 seconds, just until wilted, and transfer to the ice water, then drain. Squeeze out excess water. Bring the water in the pot back to a boil and add the pasta shells. Cook al dente, about 10 minutes, and drain and toss with the olive oil. Set aside.
• Turn on a food processor fitted with the steel blade and drop in the garlic. When the garlic is chopped and adhering to the sides of the bowl, stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the spinach and pulse to chop finely. Add the ricotta and the egg and process until well blended. Add 1/3 cup of the Parmesan, the chives, and salt and pepper to taste. Pulse until well blended.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a large baking dish or two 2-quart dishes. The shells should fit into the dish in one layer. Fill each shell with a scant tablespoon of the filling. Arrange in a single layer in the baking dish. Top with the tomato sauce and cover the dish with foil.
• Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from the heat, sprinkle on the remaining Parmesan, and serve.

SPINACH & RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• First make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the garlic for 1 min. Add the sugar, vinegar, tomatoes and some seasoning and simmer for 20 mins, stirring occasionally, until thick. Add the basil and divide the sauce between 2 or more shallow ovenproof dishes (see Tips for freezing, below). Set aside. Make a sauce by beating the mascarpone with the milk until smooth, season, then set aside.
• Put the spinach in a large colander and pour over a kettle of boiling water to wilt it (you may need to do this in batches). When cool enough to handle squeeze out the excess water. Roughly chop the spinach and mix in a large bowl with 100g Parmesan and ricotta. Season well with salt, pepper and the nutmeg.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Using a piping bag or plastic food bag with the corner snipped off, squeeze the filling into the cannelloni tubes. Lay the tubes, side by side, on top of the tomato sauce and spoon over the mascarpone sauce. Top with Parmesan and mozzarella. You can now freeze the cannelloni, uncooked, or you can cook it first and then freeze. Bake for 30-35 mins until golden and bubbling. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 mins before serving.

SPINACH CHEESE MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• In a large bowl, combine ricotta, spinach, onion and egg. Season with parsley, pepper and garlic powder. Mix in 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup Parmesan. In a separate bowl, stir together spaghetti sauce and water.
• Spread 1 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Stuff uncooked manicotti shells with ricotta mixture, and arrange in a single layer in the dish. Cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
• Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until noodles are soft.