Ashley Cole-lloni

A delicious cannelloni with spinach and three cheeses, in a hidden vegetable tomato  sauce. Its a great way to get your child to eat his veggies.

Ingredients

Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 small carrot, peeled and grated (50g)
Half small courgette, grated (50g)
Quarter red pepper diced (30g)
Quarter tsp thyme leaves and 1 clove garlic, crushed
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp sugar
200 ml vegetable stock

Filling
1 tbsp olive oil
1 shallot, chopped
160g spinach
250g ricotta
50g grated gruyere
30g grated parmesan
A little nutmeg to taste
 
To Finish
12 x cannelloni tubes or 8 sheets fresh lasagne (or 4 sheets halved)
50g grated Cheddar or Mozzarella
15g grated parmesan

Method

To make the sauce, heat the oil in  a large deep frying pan, Saute the onion for 3 minutes until translucent, then add the carrot, courgette and pepper and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for one minute, then add the tomato puree, ketchup, sugar and stock and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until thickened. Blend until smooth and season with salt and pepper.

To make the filling. Heat  the oil in a wok, sauté the shallot for 2 to 3 minutes until soft. Add the spinach and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes until the spinach has wilted fully and no liquid is left. Leave to cool then chop the spinach, put in a bowl then stir in the ricotta, gruyere and parmesan. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Fill the cannelloni tubes with ricotta mixture, using the handle of a teaspoon to push the mixture through the pasta tubes. If using lasagne sheets, divide the mixture between the sheets and roll up.

Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over the base of a large baking dish. Lay the cannelloni in the dish and cover with the remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle over the grated cheese.

Bake in an oven preheated to 180C/350F/ Gas 4 for 40 minutes. If stored in the fridge before cooking then bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour.

Information
Makes 6 portions
Suitable for Freezing