Stuffed cannelloni

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 20 cannelloni
• 250 g minced meat
• 600 g fresh leaf spinach
• 1 m.-sized onion(s)
• 1 garlic clove(s)
• 3 eggs
• 1 lemon(s), zest
• salt and pepper
• marjoram
• nutmeg
• oregano
• 150 g cheese, grated
• 500 ml tomato(s), pureed
• 50 g tomato paste
• 100 g butter
• 80 g wheat flour
• 600 ml milk
• 200 ml cream
• Vegetable broth, granulated

Instructions

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

With minced meat and fresh leaf spinach

To fill the cannelloni, pluck the spinach leaves and blanch them briefly (place them in boiling water), then plunge them into ice water, chop them roughly, and squeeze the excess water out. Mix the minced meat with the eggs, diced onion, spinach, half of the grated lemon, and finely chopped garlic (best with a pinch of salt, mashed into a paste with the back of a knife). Season the meat mixture with nutmeg, salt, pepper, and marjoram or oregano. Fill the cannelloni with the mixture and place it in a baking dish. Make a tomato sauce from the passata, tomato paste, and spices. Season to taste with sugar (to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes). Pour the tomato sauce over the cannelloni, ensuring they are three-quarters full. Preheat the oven to 200°C. For the béchamel sauce, heat the butter, mix with the flour, and then deglaze with the milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and season the sauce with the remaining lemon zest, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and vegetable stock powder. Stir in the cream at the end, but do not let it boil again, or it will curdle. Cover the cannelloni with the béchamel sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake at 185°C for about 45 minutes.