filling:
big bag of spinach leavestub of riccottafew cloves of garlic, crushednutmeg, salt and pepper parmesan sauce
2 oz butter
2 oz flour
around 1 pint of milk
a good grating of parmesan (say, matchbox sized chunk, grated finely)
salt and pepper
also, you will need a bottle of passata (finely seived tomatoes), and some canneloni shells (or some lasagne sheets almost cooked so they're flexible - say, 6-8 or so: keep in warm water so they don't dry out before you need them)
What to do:
Pour a layer of passata into a wide oven-proof dish - heat oven to 400°F/200°C
Wash your spinach and then stick into a big pot to cook in the water still clinging to the leaves. Let wilt for a couple of minutes, then take off the heat: press into a colander - try to get rid of as much liquid as possible (I stand on my tip-toes and squidge it all with a wide-bottomed glass). Set this aside to cool after roughly chopping.
Tip your ricotta into a bowl along with the garlic, salt and pepper: mix together after flourishing with a good grating of nutmeg. Set this aside too.
For the parmesan sauce: melt the butter in a heavy pot: once melted, sprinkle all the flour over it, stirring in a frenzied manner until it is all absorbed by the liquid butter. Let cook for a few minutes.
Now, splash in your first bit of milk: stir this too in a frenzied manner. it will look horrible, lumpy maybe and a revolting colour. Keep on stirring until it starts to bubble onimously: at this point, repeat the milk action - along with the stirring. If possible, let the mixture come to simmering point after each batch of milk has been absorbed. I tend to use a wooden spoon for the most of the making of this sauce, as it can dig out all the gloopy bit I tend to miss in the corners (no - i don't have a triangular pot) substituting it for a whisk towards the end to make sure there are no evil lumps.
So, beat in all your milk: once it's all gone and in front of you there is a gleaming pot of satiny goo, lower the heat to the lowest setting, and let simmer for about 5 minutes or so. After this, add your parmesan, taste, then add your seasoning.
For the stuffed pasta things: by now your spinach will be cooler, so mix this in with your riccotta. If you are using canneloni shells, force bits of riccotta mixture in each end of the tube; if lasagne sheets, simple plonk an amount of mixture at the front of your sheet, roll and cut off the excess pasta. There should be enough for between 6 - 8 tubes, depending on how thick you want them.
When you have used up all your riccotta-mixture, gently set your cute little rolls on top of the passatta, then drape with the parmesan sauce.If you fancy, you can grate some more cheese of your liking over the top of this.
Torturously, leave this to settle for about half an hour, then bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until golden. So lovely with some salad. Yummy indeed.
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