Spinach & ricotta cannelloni
The most-cooked cannelloni in the world, and the most commonly botched — nearly always by wet spinach. Water hiding in the leaves thins the filling, waterlogs the pasta, and turns the dish soupy. Squeeze the spinach until your forearms complain, and everything else about this recipe is easy.
Ingredients
Filling
- 500 g frozen chopped spinach, thawed (or 900 g fresh, wilted)
- 500 g ricotta — full-fat, drained if watery
- 60 g Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
- 1 egg yolk
- ¼ tsp grated nutmeg · zest of ½ lemon · salt and pepper
Assembly
- 12 dried cannelloni tubes — or fresh sheets (dough guide), which suit this delicate filling best
- 700 ml tomato passata · 1 garlic clove · 2 tbsp olive oil
- Béchamel: 40 g butter, 40 g flour, 500 ml whole milk, nutmeg
- 100 g mozzarella, torn
Method
- Dry the spinach. Squeeze thawed spinach in fistfuls over the sink, then wrap in a clean kitchen towel and twist hard. You should extract several tablespoons of green water; 500 g of thawed spinach should weigh closer to 300 g when you’re done. Chop finely.
- Mix the filling. Beat ricotta smooth, then fold in spinach, Parmigiano, egg yolk, nutmeg, lemon zest, ¾ tsp salt and plenty of pepper. Taste — it should be assertively seasoned, since the pasta dilutes it. Chill 20 minutes so it pipes cleanly.
- Sauces. Simmer passata with the crushed garlic clove, olive oil and a pinch of salt for 10 minutes; discard the garlic. Make the béchamel: butter, then flour for 2 minutes, then milk gradually, simmering to coating consistency.
- Assemble. Two-thirds of the tomato sauce into the dish. Pipe the filling into the tubes (~30 g each — a piping bag makes this a five-minute job) and arrange snugly. Spoon over the rest of the tomato, then the béchamel, then mozzarella.
- Bake. 190°C / 375°F: 25 minutes foil-covered, 10 uncovered until golden. Rest 10 minutes.
Fresh vs frozen spinach: frozen wins here — it’s pre-wilted, cheaper, and squeezes drier. If using fresh, wilt it in a dry pan, cool, then squeeze exactly as above.
Variations that keep the architecture
- Ricotta upgrade: half ricotta, half crumbled goat cheese for tang.
- Greens swap: chard or kale (stems removed, blanched, squeezed) behave identically.
- All-white version: skip the tomato and double the béchamel for a bianca dish — add a handful more Parmigiano for backbone.
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Frequently asked questions
How do you keep spinach and ricotta cannelloni from being watery?
Squeeze the spinach until virtually no liquid comes out — a kitchen towel twist gets more out than hands alone — and drain watery ricotta in a sieve for 15 minutes. Dry filling is the whole game.
Do I need the egg in the filling?
The single yolk lightly sets the filling so tubes slice cleanly. You can omit it for an egg-free version; chill the filling well and expect a slightly softer set.
Can I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta?
Yes — blend it briefly first for a smoother texture and drain it well. Ricotta stays the classic choice for flavor, but drained, blended cottage cheese is a reasonable higher-protein swap.