Our version of this vegetarian classic is packed full of flavour. Serve with a side of herby salad for a truly tempting weeknight dish.
Ingredients
For the tomato sauce
- 4 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 8 garlic cloves, crushed
- 3 tbsp caster sugar
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Small bunch fresh basil, roughly chopped
For the topping
- 2 x 125g balls mozzarella
- 2 x 250g tubs mascarpone
- 85g grated parmesan
- 3 tbsp semi-skimmed milk
For the filling
- 100g grated parmesan
- 3 x 250g tubs ricotta
- 400g dried cannelloni
- 1kg spinach
- Pinch grated nutmeg
Method
- Preheat your oven to 200℃/180℃ fan/gas mark 6. Make the tomato sauce; in your Cooks Professional frying pan, heat the olive oil and fry the crushed garlic for roughly 1 minute. Add the tinned tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, and some seasoning, simmering for around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mixture has thickened. Add the chopped basil and then divide the sauce between two or more ovenproof dishes.
- To make the topping, add the mascarpone and the milk together in a bowl and beat together until smooth. Season to taste and put to one side.
- In a large colander, wilt the spinach by pouring boiling water from the kettle over it. You may need to do this in several batches. Once cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess water. Chop the spinach, and in a clean bowl mix it together with 100g of the parmesan and all of the ricotta. Season with pepper, salt, and the nutmeg.
- Next, fill the cannelloni tubes. Fill a piping bag or a plastic food bag, with the corner snipped off, with the spinach and ricotta filling, then squeeze the filling into the cannelloni tubes. Gently lay the tubes on top of the prepared tomato sauce, and spoon over the prepared mascarpone topping. Sprinkle over the 85g parmesan and the mozzarella.
- Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the cannelloni is golden and bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving with a herby salad.
Lead image: marcomayer via Getty Images.
