Spinach Cannellonis

Here's one of those rare and exciting vegetarian meals that crops up in our kitchen now and then. Cannellonis can either be a fiddly pain in the neck or a breeze, depending on how everything comes together. Usually a bit of practice sorts it all out, though. I found that making these with meat was more difficult than the recipe here, because with something like mince you have to cook it up, wait for it to cool, and then it doesn't always hold together very well. So roll on vego dinner!

You'll need a box of pre-made cannelloni tubes, unless you're really keen and feel like making them fresh. If you feel such an urge, all the best. I can do spaghetti and ravioli, but I've never tried anything that actually has its own shape. Let me know how that goes.

Spinach & Ricotta Cannellonis

(Serves 4)

In a bowl, mix up 250g Spinach leaves (frozen portions are fine if you can't get hold of fresh Spinach), 250g of Ricotta cheese, and one small red onion, very finely chopped.
Stuff each Cannelloni shell with the spinach mixture. This might be messy, but it really is easiest just to do it with your fingers. You can mess around with spoons or piping bags if you like, but experience has taught us that fingers are just the best way. And how often do you get to play with your food, anyway?
Layer the stuffed tubes one deep in an oiled oven dish (or spread with baking paper - wonderful stuff in the cleaning-up stakes). Over the tubes, spread one 420g can of pasta sauce, or an equivalent amount of proper homemade stuff if you've got it. We don't. Watch this space when tomatoes are 50c a kilo in late summer.
Grate cheddar and parmesan cheese over the cannellonis and place in the oven at 200c for about 40 mins. For the last 5 mins, flick the oven over to grill mode and brown the cheese.
Serve with fresh veges and sticky sweet pumpkin.