too much spinach . cannelloni . obviously

When my kids were young and I was a solo working mother with two jobs and we lived on the hill in Napier, the kids all cooked once a week. Each teen had a favorite, and Daughters was cannelloni.

She had read the recipe for canneloni with spinach and cottage cheese in an Alison Holst recipe book Meals without Meat (God knows where that book is now) that Holst co-wrote with her son Simon in 1990. Daughter free styled it from there - for the next twenty odd years. This dish has stuck with us since the 90's. In those days we did not have ricotta so we used strained cottage cheese and we did not have Italian mozzarella so we used cream cheese and grated cheddar. Now, of course, we have access to all the good stuff and the result is so delicious. But we still use the cream cheese because - yeah.

My daughter (we are living together for a while as there is a baby due) has a few friends with new babies and medical stuff so she made enough to make two extra dishes to give to them. Food is the one thing we all bring in times of family stress. Right? She is very like me in the kitchen and works by feel and muscle memory so I had to run round after her digging for measurements so I could write her recipe for you.

Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

Serves 6 adults and four toddlers — enough for three small families with generous leftovers.

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Tomato Sauce:

• 5 cloves garlic, chopped

• 3 medium onions, diced

• 100g tomato paste (about 3.5 oz or 6 tablespoons)

• 500g cherry tomatoes (about 1 lb or 3 cups)

• 1,500g passata (about 6 1/3 cups or 3 x 500ml jars) or home made tomato sauce.

• 500g vegetable stock or water (about 2 cups)

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan, gently cook the garlic and onions in olive oil until soft.

2. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2–3 minutes.

3. Add cherry tomatoes, passata, (tomato or summer sauce from your freezer) and water.

4. Simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes until the flavours have come together. The sauce should remain fairly loose.

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Greens:

• about 600g mixed greens (spinach, chard, kale, etc.)
  (about 1.3 lbs or 10 loosely packed cups raw), (we just used ALL the greens we could pick).

1. Wilt cleaned and chopped greens by setting a tea towel or muslin in a colander over an empty pot, pour a whole kettle of boiling water all over the greens. Then put a lid on it. The greens will steam nicely.

2. Let cool slightly, then strain by twisting the tea towel tightly and press out excess liquid. Chop if needed.

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Filling:

• 1.5kg ricotta cheese (about 3.3 lbs or 6 1/2 cups)

• Wilted and drained greens

• Salt and black pepper to taste

• Good pinch of ground nutmeg

  

  

• In a large bowl, combine ricotta, greens, seasoning, and nutmeg. Mix well (hands are best).

  

  Assembly

• About 20 cannelloni tubes (2 boxes, dried, roughly 250–300g / 9–10 oz)

• 500g cream cheese (about 1.1 lbs or two 8 oz blocks)

• Grated tasty (sharp) cheddar or mozzarrella cheese

  

To finish:

1. Fill cannelloni tubes with the ricotta mixture. A piping bag or spoon helps. Pipe the mixture in from both ends.

2. Two big ladles of tomato sauce into the baking dish to begin.

3. Arrange the cannelloni in the sauce in a single layer.

4. Pour the sauce over the cannelloni to cover well. Dot with basil (optional).

5. Top with spoonfuls or a spread of cream cheese.

6. Grated tasty cheddar cheese on top.

   

7. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for 30 minutes, or until hot through and lightly golden.

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A food photographer I knew once said make sure to take lots of prep shots in case your final shot does not work. I did and it didn’t. But it was delicious. And one of my daughters friends sent her a picture of her toddler scoffing it as fast as she could off her high chair tray. So we are calling it a success.

Freeze left over cannelloni in airtight containers for upwards of a month.

Left over cheese mixture is in the freezer to make ravioli later this week. Kids love ravioli, too!

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What is fascinating about this dish is the Test of Time. We all see it in our dishes. Making the same dish every other week for twenty odd years and different every time! Using what we have available and remembering an old recipe that has been stored in our over full brains for ever.

A little water and time and anything can happen.

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I will read another episode of Oscar Wilde’s ghost story after we get back from the doctors appt today.

Because we all need a little down time:

Books narrated by Cecilia Buyswheeler Gunther - 2025

Have a gorgeous day.

Celi