Recipe

This served two hungry adults and one hungry toddler.

Ingredients

For the cannelloni filling:

2 large handfuls of spinach, roughly chopped
3 heaped tablespoons of ricotta
1 clove of garlic (crushed)
1 medium egg
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
a knob of butter
a twist of black pepper
8 lasagne sheets (you can use proper cannelloni tubes if you like, I just didn’t have any in the cupboard!)

For the sauce:

500g passata
1/2 an onion, grated
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
A handful of grated cheese (we used cheddar) to sprinkle over the top.

Method

Put the butter in a frying pan with the garlic. Cook for a minute, then add the spinach and cook until wilted.

In a bowl, mix the spinach, egg, ricotta, nutmeg and black pepper.

Soften the lasagne sheets (if not using cannelloni) in a bowl of boiling water.

TOP TIP: Soften the lasagne sheets two at a time and separate with a fork. If you try to do them all at once they will stick together. Learn from my mistake! don’t try and save time by doing them together!

In the same pan as before, put the passata, onion, balsamic vinegar, oregano and basil. Leave to simmer whilst you assemble the cannelloni.

To assemble the cannelloni, take the softened lasagne sheets, place a generous strip of the spinach and ricotta mixture in a line down the middle and roll into a tube shape.
Put a thin layer of the sauce in an ovenproof dish, just enough to cover the bottom.
Place the filled lasagne tubes in rows in the dish.