Pancake cannelloni with spinach and ricotta
pancake day, or pancake tuesday, it's one of my favourite days of the year because my britboy makes awesome pancakes and I get to eat them all before having to repent all my gluttonous sins!
we usually eat sweet pancakes, britboy actually confessed me that for many years he couldn't accept any other pancake than sugar-and-lemon ones! he had to change his mind when he came across nutella and maple syrup.
this time round we decided to mix our culinary traditions: the british pancake with one of my italian favourite dishes, cannelloni with ricotta and spinach! my mamma's cannelloni recipe is quite involved so we went for a more simple and quick verison which is nonetheless very tasty.
Make 8 pancakes
ingredients:
pancake
100g plain flour
2 eggs
300ml semi-skimmed milk
1 tbsp olive oil
pinch salt
filling
200g spinach (fresh if possible)
230g ricotta
half tsp nutmeg
6 tbsp parmesan cheese
salt + pepper to taste
instructions:
1. put the flour in a large mixing bowl with a pinch of salt and make a well in the centre
2. crack the eggs in the well and pour in 50ml of milk and the olive oil
3. whisk all the ingredients starting from the centre until you have a smooth and tick paste
4. add a splash of milk to losen the batter and then add the rest of the milk while whisking
6. grease a frying pan with some oil or butter and pour in some batter to make an even layer
7. fry the pancake for about 30-40s per side or until golden, if you feel brave flip the pancake over in the traditional way or use a palette knife
8. in the meantime boil the spinach in salted water, drain of all the water and chop them. In a medium bowl mix the cooked spinach with the ricotta, 3tbsp of parmesan, nutmet, salt and pepper
9. stuff each pancake with a heaped tbsp of the prepared filling and roll them up.
10. place the pancakes in an oven dish and top with the remaining stuffing and grated parmesan
11. place in the oven and bake at 180° for 20 minutes or until golden brown
12. serve with chopped fresh tomatoes
Enjoy!
