Another tasty vegetarian dish

Ingredients

• 255 g spinach
• 200 g mushrooms
• olive oil
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 onion
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 2 x 400 g tins of diced plum tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ a bunch of fresh basil , (15g)
• ½ a lemon
• 1 large free-range egg
• Parmesan cheese
• 320 g fresh Portuguese cheese (2 large blue Valado Sta Quiteria cheeses) or riccotta
• 13 or 14 tubes cannelloni (150g)
• 250 g fresh mozzarella (Lidl mozzarella works well)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F 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. 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 mushrooms and onion and squash the garlic. In the same pan as you cooked the spinach heat a drizzle of olive oil and gently sweat the onion until soft, then add the mushrooms and garlic and cook until soft.
3. Put the tomatoes and bay leaf into the mixture. Put in a few chopped 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 to taste.
4. Squeeze the moisture out of the spinach into a bowl. Place the spinach on a board and chop it up.
5. Beat the egg and grate 2 teaspoons of Parmesan cheese, stir the fresh cheese /ricotta, egg and Parmesan into the spinach. Season to taste.
6. With a small spoon push the spinach mixture into the cannelloni tubes and lay them in a 22cm x 22cm 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 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 sprinkled on top.