Cannelloni

Photo and Recipe Courtesy: Priya (my friend)

This is an awesome stuffed pasta recipe from Priya.. I just love the way it has turned out!

Ingredients:

Oven ready Cannelloni tubes-10
Ricotta cheese-300g
Frozen boxed Spinach-300g (thawed)
Tomato and Basil Pasta sauce -3 cups
Water-1/2 cup
Onion- 1/2 of a big one (fine chopped)
Garlic-5 cloves (crushed)
Olive oil - 3 Tbsp
Unsalted butter- 1 Tbsp
Parmesan cheese-4 Tbsp
Grated nutmeg-1/4 tsp
Italian blend /Mozzarella cheese- 4 Tbsp
Salt-to taste
Pepper-to taste

Cooking Directions:

-Begin preparation right before ready to bake.
-Strain all water possible from the spinach. This step is very important.
-In a bowl, mix together ricotta cheese and spinach well.
-In a hot pan, add oil and butter. Add garlic and let in infuse its flavor.
-Add chopped onions and sauté.
-When it gets translucent, add the pasta sauce, water and let it boil for 5-7 min. Add 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese, grated nutmeg, salt and pepper.(canned Italian seasoned tomatoes can be pureed and used instead of pasta sauce)
-In an oven safe dish, make a bed using half of the pasta sauce.
-Add a pinch of salt and pepper to the ricotta cheese-spinach mixture.
-Fill a piping bag (or sandwich bag with a corner slit forming a cone) with the ricotta cheese-spinach mixture.
-Carefully fill each of the tubes completely using the piping bag and line them on the baking dish with a 1/4 inch gap between each ,giving it room to expand while baking.(Note: The tubes are not pre-cooked )
-Add the remaining pasta sauce on top of the tubes making sure all of the tubes are covered with sauce.
-Sprinkle mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese on top and cover tightly with foil. (Bechamel sauce can be used instead of Mozzarella)
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
-Bake cannelloni for 35-40min till pasta is tender and pasta sauce is hot and bubbling.
-Serve Cannelloni hot!