Save Money Good Food's spiced spinach and ricotta cannelloni recipe

This spiced spinach and ricotta cannelloni will be a hit with the whole family. You only need 20 mins to prep it and 45 mins to cook it, so it will take a little bit more than an hour to cook this delicious cannelloni dish. If you love the combination of spinach and ricotta, then you will not be disappointed by this creamy recipe. This spiced spinach and ricotta cannelloni serves four to six people, so it's ideal for a midweek family dinner. This Save Money Good Food spinach and ricotta cannelloni uses bean stew leftovers, but if you don’t have any leftovers, then try making the classic spinach and ricotta cannelloni. Simply increase the amount of spinach to 600g and ricotta to 600g. Finish by grating in 50g Parmesan over the top for a lovely cheesy crust. This also makes for a delicious vegetarian alternative if you, or someone in your family, is a vegetarian or even if you're just trying to cut down on meat and eat more vegetables. Matt Tebbutt whipped up this recipe in ITV's Save Money: Good Food with Susanna Reid, as a way to help families use up their leftovers and save money on their food shop. They say: 'Such a satisfying dish to make and one that the whole family will enjoy. You could stuff anything into the cannelloni tubes, from simple vegetarian fillings, like spinach and ricotta, to leftover ratatouille.'

Ingredients

• 200g baby spinach 
• 300g
• , or any other leftover stew
• 350g ricotta cheese grating of nutmeg 
• 250g cannelloni tubes (roughly 18) 
• 1 tbsp tomato puree 
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced 
• 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes 
• ½ small bunch of fresh basil 
• 100g mozzarella, torn into small pieces

Method

1. To make this Save Money: Good Food recipe, preheat the oven to 190ºC/Gas 5. Put a kettle on to boil.
2. Tip the spinach into a colander and pour boiling water over to wilt it. Run cold water over the wilted spinach and, when you're certain it is cool enough to handle, give it a good squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible.
3. Put the spinach into a bowl and add the rich bean stew, ricotta and nutmeg, along with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Stir until well combined. Stuff the mixture into the pasta tubes - don't worry if there is some mix left over: it can be added to the sauce later.
4. Mix together the tomato puree, garlic and tomatoes, along with a good pinch of both salt and pepper. Tip this sauce into the base of a baking dish and arrange the filled pasta tubes in a single layer on top - the sauce should almost cover the tubes. Dot with any leftover filling.
5. Tear half of the basil and scatter over the top. Dot with the mozzarella, cover with tin foil and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
6. After 30 minutes, remove the foil and continue to bake for a further 15 minutes, or until the pasta is fully cooked through and the cheese has melted and turned golden brown in spots.
7. Garnish with the remaining basil and serve.