RICOTTA BAKING RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Put the spinach and a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over a low heat. Add the nutmeg, season with sea salt and black pepper, cover and leave to sweat. Help the kids to stir it occasionally until the spinach has cooked down. Place in a bowl and set to one side to cool a little.
  2. Dice the onion and squash the garlic. In the same pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil and gently sweat the onion until soft.
  3. Scrunch in the tomatoes through your clean hands and add the garlic and bay leaf. Pick in a few basil leaves and grate in the zest of the lemon half, then let it gently simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
  4. Have the kids squeeze the moisture out of the spinach into the bowl. Place the spinach on a board so you can chop it up. Return the spinach to the liquid in the bowl.
  5. Beat the egg and grate 2 teaspoons of Parmesan cheese. Get the kids to stir the ricotta, egg and Parmesan into the spinach. Season to taste.
  6. Sit a piping bag in a jug, fold its edges over the rim, then spoon in the spinach mixture. Have the kids help pipe the mixture into the cannelloni tubes and lay them in a 20cm x 25cm oven dish.
  7. Spread the tomato sauce over the cannelloni. Pick the remaining basil leaves and scatter most of them over the tomato sauce. Slice the mozzarella and lay the slices on top, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and season.
  8. Place in the oven and cook for 35 to 40 minutes or till the top is golden and the pasta tender (if the top browns too fast, cover the dish with foil). Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes before serving with the remaining basil leaves.

Steps:

• First make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the garlic for 1 min. Add the sugar, vinegar, tomatoes and some seasoning and simmer for 20 mins, stirring occasionally, until thick. Add the basil and divide the sauce between 2 or more shallow ovenproof dishes (see Tips for freezing, below). Set aside. Make a sauce by beating the mascarpone with the milk until smooth, season, then set aside.
• Put the spinach in a large colander and pour over a kettle of boiling water to wilt it (you may need to do this in batches). When cool enough to handle squeeze out the excess water. Roughly chop the spinach and mix in a large bowl with 100g Parmesan and ricotta. Season well with salt, pepper and the nutmeg.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Using a piping bag or plastic food bag with the corner snipped off, squeeze the filling into the cannelloni tubes. Lay the tubes, side by side, on top of the tomato sauce and spoon over the mascarpone sauce. Top with Parmesan and mozzarella. You can now freeze the cannelloni, uncooked, or you can cook it first and then freeze. Bake for 30-35 mins until golden and bubbling. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 mins before serving.