Cannelloni with ricotta and spinach

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 package of cannelloni without pre-cooking
• 600 g tomatoes, chopped
• 450 g leaf spinach (frozen)
• 250 g ricotta
• 20 g pine nuts
• 1 egg(s)
• 2 shallots
• 10 tbsp Parmesan, freshly grated
• 40 g flour
• 40 g butter
• 500 ml milk
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• salt and pepper
• oregano
• nutmeg
• Fat for the mold

Instructions

Working time approx. 50 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

with tomato and béchamel sauce

Dry toast the pine nuts in a pan. Meanwhile, grate the Parmesan cheese, mix the ricotta with the egg and three tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper and add the pine nuts. Finely chop the shallots and sauté one shallot at a time in a saucepan with a little oil until translucent. Briefly fry a crushed garlic clove with each shallot. Place the spinach leaves in one pan and the tomatoes in the other. Cook the spinach leaves until most of the liquid has evaporated. Then season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Let cool. Let the tomatoes reduce slightly and season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour. Sauté for two minutes over medium heat, stirring continuously. Then deglaze with the milk and simmer gently for two minutes. Stir in two tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese and season the sauce with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Grease a suitable dish and cover the base with half of the tomato sauce. Combine the spinach leaves with the ricotta and fill the cannelloni (best with a piping bag), then place them in the dish. Spread the remaining tomato sauce over the cannelloni. Spoon the béchamel sauce over the top and sprinkle with four tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 225°C (top/bottom heat) for 15 minutes. Then remove the aluminum foil and bake for another 10 minutes, until nicely browned.