Spinach and ricotta cannelloni

We were both working at home today. I didn't miss the train journey, although I did miss the air conditioning in the office. No commute meant I had a bit more time to make dinner. I opted for a non pasta, spinach and ricotta 'cannelloni' for dinner tonight. This is a great lower GI alternative to pasta. In fact, it's blending the French (socca) with the Italian (pasta). Whilst I'm not on the Amalfi coast any time soon, I will be in the south of France in September and expect to be sampling quite a lot of socca, as one of the few French vegetarian offerings. Nice.

I have already made a reservation at Chez Hugo (http://www.chezhugo.fr/) for Gipsy Spread's birthday lunch and we are waiting to hear back from the cordon bleu chef who may cook for us at the Chateau we are renting. I will be posting poolside from the Chateau in September, don't you worry.


What you will need
250g ricotta
150g wilted and chopped spinach
1 table spoon of creme fraiche
1 lemon
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 onion
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
4-5 table spoons of gram flour
Lemon thyme
1 teaspoon English or Dijon mustard
Cheddar

 

Mix together the spinach, ricotta and crème fraiche. Season with plenty of salt and pepper, add the leaves from a few sprigs of lemon thyme, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and the mustard

 

Make a simple tomato sauce. Chop the onion and garlic and sauté until softened. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes and half the same amount of water. Season, add the tomato puree and balsamic vinegar and continue to reduce for about 10-15 minutes.

 

Separately, make the pancakes. Mix together the gram flour with enough water to make a thin batter. Fry these in a pan with a little bit of oil. You will want about 4-5 pancakes They only take seconds each side.

 

Split the ricotta and spinach filling between the pancakes and fill along the middle of each. Roll the pancakes up and lay them in an oven dish side to side.

 

 

Pour over the tomato sauce. Grate over the cheddar (as much or little as you fancy) and bake for 20 minutes at 220 degrees until the cheese has melted and is bubbling. Garnish this with fresh greek basil and serve with a green salad. I had the beautifully nutty avocado in mine tonight.

You can make socca with egg white to give a fluffier pancake. Ottolenghi does this, I think in 'Plenty' and I have made his before. However, the above, really is the simplest method.