Italian Sausage, Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni
Colorful and delicious, this Italian Sausage Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni is a great dish to make when entertaining…
Ingredients
SPINACH
- 3 tbsp. olive oil, divided or as needed tips & tricks
- 1/2 lb. (8 oz.) baby spinach leaves
FILLING
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onions, finely chopped
- ground Himalayan pink salt, to taste
- 1/2 lb. hot Italian sausage, casings removed see Recipe
- freshly ground mixed peppercorns, to taste optional
- 2 large cloves garlic, pressed
- 1/2 tbsp. Italian seasoning see Recipe
- 2 cups (500 g) ricotta cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded tips & tricks
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 large free-run eggs, beaten
- 18 cannelloni
TOPPING
- 2 1/2 cups Bolognese sauce, divided or as needed
- 2 cups Alfredo sauce, or as needed
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley tips & tricks
Directions
SPINACH
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tbsp. olive oil and when sizzling, working in batches, add a handful of baby spinach leaves. Sauté until wilted, about 1:30 to 2 minutes.
- When this batch is done, scoop the leaves up into a colander and set aside while adding another tbsp. of oil and another batch of spinach leaves.
- After all the spinach leaves are wilted and cool enough to handle, grab a handful and squeeze very hard to remove as much liquid as possible. Transfer them to a cutting board before cutting into very small pieces; set aside.
FILLING
- In the same skillet over medium heat, add 1 tbsp. olive oil. When hot, add onions and season with ground sea salt. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add hot Italian sausage and break the meat into tiny pieces. When almost cooked, add garlic and sauté until the meat is done. Add Italian seasoning and stir to blend.
- Transfer the meat to a colander and drain the excess fat. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine ricotta, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, plus two beaten eggs. Mix until well blended before adding chopped spinach leaves; stir until evenly distributed.
- When cool enough, add meat to the cheese mixture and stir well.
- To assemble…Preheated oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 10x10 baking dish with cooking spray and coat the bottom with a thin layer of Bolognese sauce; set aside.
- Using a piping bag, or a regular plastic bag, spoon filling in it, and squeeze the bag tight to remove any air pockets. Cut off the tip, slightly smaller than the tubes, and squeeze the mixture into the cannelloni.
- Place stuffed cannelloni into the prepared baking dish. Spoon Alfredo sauce on two halves of the cannelloni, trying to make it as straight as possible. Then spoon the Bolognese sauce over the other halves.
- After the pasta is entirely covered with sauces, sprinkle on 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese on top.
- Cover the dish with foil and transfer to preheated oven. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil before baking for an additional 5 minutes or until the sauces are bubbly and the cannelloni is done when piercing with a pointy knife.
- Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes before adding the chopped parsley.