Consuming Passions - Worldwide Events Managers

Rocket Ricotta Cannelloni

Serves: 4

Notes

One of my favourite pasta dishes is cannelloni – tubes of pasta – filled with a mixture of ricotta and rocket, the salad green otherwise known as arugula. Instant cannelloni make this dish simple to prepare. What should be remembered is that they need cooking in a more sloppy sauce than would traditional cooked pasta tubes. The dish comes with two sauces, tomato and béchamel.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch rocket, washed, drained and finely chopped
• 1 packet instant cannelloni
• 500g fresh ricotta
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 1 Spanish (purple) onion, very finely chopped
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 800g canned tomatoes
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (optional)
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

Ingredients for béchamel

• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp cornflour
• 600ml milk
• 2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Method

Pre-heat oven to 190C. Make a simple tomato sauce by cooking half the Spanish onion with the garlic (if using) in the olive oil. When onion is soft, add the tomatoes, tomato paste and sugar, and cook gently for about 20 minutes. Prepare filling by mixing together rocket, ricotta, remaining onion, eggs, nutmeg, and Parmesan. Season to taste. Fill instant cannelloni tubes while still in the packet. Remove side of pack, and fill using a piping bag or spoon. (Piping bag is much easier). To assemble, take a wide, deep ovenproof dish, put a few tablespoons of tomato sauce on the bottom. Put in the cannelloni side by side leaving space around each one for the sauce and to allow expansion. Add tomato sauce to just cover the tubes. Make a simple bechamel sauce by melting butter in a heavy pan, stirring in cornflour and allowing to cook for about 2 minutes. Add milk, a little at a time, until a smooth, white sauce is achieved. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese. Add to the cannelloni dish, sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and bake in oven at 190C for about 50 minutes.