THE cannelloni they represent a dish of the Emilian tradition known throughout Italy and cooked for unmissable Sunday family lunches, as well as for cheerful and informal dinners with friends. Cannelloni can be made with meat or with a vegetable filling, which can be prepared with spinach and ricotta, as in the recipe that we propose, but also with many other combinations, including escarole and taleggio, leeks and gorgonzola or artichokes and Brie cheese, makes them a perfect proposal for all vegetarians. They have the advantage of being prepared too the day before and cooked if necessary, or to be frozen. They can be accompanied by one bechamel soft and creamy, like the ones shown below, or from a simple one tomato sauce, for those who prefer the strongest flavors.
Our recipe for lean cannelloni
Ingredients
For the pastry
300 g 00 flour, 3 eggs, salt.
For the stuffing
800 g boiled and squeezed spinach, 500 g cow's milk ricotta, 200 g Parmesan cheese plus a little, 1 shallot, oil, salt, nutmeg.
For the bechamel
100 g butter, 100 g 00 flour, 1 l fresh milk, salt, nutmeg.
Method
First form one fountain with flour, break the eggs inside, add the salt and start kneading. Work the mixture for a long time, to make it smooth and homogeneous. Form a ball, cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for an hour. Aside from that, put some oil in a pan shallot sliced e spinaches well squeezed and chopped. Let them dry for a few minutes and then put them in a bowl with ricotta, nutmeg, parmesan, salt and mix well. Pull the pasta with the special machine, until you get one thin sheet, 2 mm thick, which you will cut in rectangles 8 cm long. Boil them in a pot filled with water and then lay them on a tea towel. Fill them with the ricotta and spinach mixture, and then roll them up to form the cannelloni. In a saucepan, melt the butter, dilute us flour and then gradually add all the milk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, so that no lumps form, until the cream will not have thickened. Add the nutmeg and salt and then set aside. Place the cannelloni in a buttered pan, distribute them one next to the other, without overlapping them, sprinkle them with béchamel, sprinkle them with parmesan and finish with a few flakes of butter. Bake them in 180 ° for 15 minutes and, if you want, leave them for another two minutes in the oven with the grill function, so that one forms crispy crust on the whole surface. Serve them warm.
