filled pasta

Stuff rolled lasagne sheets with creamy spinach and ricotta and bake with tomato and mascarpone sauces for a filling vegetarian meal

Spinach & Nutmeg Cannelloni

bag ready-washed spinach

tub ricotta

tub mascarpone

grated parmesan(or vegetarian alternative)

nutmeg

pack (6 large sheets) fresh egg lasagne

olive oil

garlic cloves, finely chopped

carton passata

can chopped tomatoes

tbsp balsamic vinegar

golden caster sugar

basil,

Spinach & nutmeg cannelloni

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 if you’re serving straight away. Pierce the bag of spinach and cook in the microwave following pack instructions (if you don’t have a microwave, wilt it in a pan with a dash of olive oil). Leave to cool, squeeze out as much liquid as you can, then finely chop.

Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil and fry the garlic until softened. Add the passata and tomatoes, vinegar and sugar, then season, cover and simmer for 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and add the basil. Tip into the base of a large, shallow baking dish.

To make the filling, beat the ricotta and a quarter of the mascarpone with 50g of the Parmesan and the chopped spinach. Finely grate in half the nutmeg, then beat until well mixed. For the topping, beat the remaining mascarpone with the egg and another 50g of the Parmesan.

To make the cannelloni, divide the spinach filling into 6 parts, spoon a portion along the top of each lasagne sheet, then roll up into a big, fat tube. Cut in half across the middle with a sharp knife so that you have 2 smaller tubes, then arrange on top of the tomato sauce. As you put them in the dish, push them slightly so that the sauce oozes up the side of the cannelloni, as this will stop them sticking together when they are baked. Spoon the mascarpone mixture on top, making sure you cover the pasta – if it doesn’t completely cover the sauce now, it will do once it melts and bakes. Scatter over the remaining Parmesan and grate over more nutmeg. If making ahead, cover and chill – it will keep for 1 day. Bake for 30-40 mins until golden and bubbling.

An unusual historic filled pasta served with butter, sage and cheese.

Tortelli Piacentini burro e salvia

400 g tortelli Piacentini filled with ricotta and spinach (or ravioli, tortellioni etc)

sage leaves (torn in half)

g butter

salt (for pasta)

black pepper (to taste)

Put a pan of water water on to boil for the pasta. Add salt when it starts to boil and bring to the boil again

Melt butter in a pan and add the sage leaves to it (the butter needs to foam)

Cook for just a short time, only enough to infuse the butter with the flavour of the sage.

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. Fresh pasta will cook very quickly.

Drain the pasta and put it in the pan with the butter and sage. Turn it over in the sauce.

Serve immediately with grated cheese and black pepper to taste.

These delicious unusual gnocchi ravioli are made with gnocchi dough and filled with sausage meat, ground veal and spinach like ravioli. If you&#039;ve ever made gnocchi or ravioli, you&#039;ll love making ofelle!

Ofelle alla Triestina (Gnocchi Ravioli)

kg potatoes ((2.20 lbs) Best

250 g All purpose flour (or Italian 00 flour (9 ounces))

eggs

tsp yeast (for baking)

salt

spinach ((1.5lbs))

veal ((7 ounces))

sausages

onion

g butter ((0,7 oz))

salt (to cook pasta

black pepper

g butter ((3.5 ounces))

Montasio

Boil the potatoes whole in salted water until very tender. Drain and, while still warm, peel, and press through a ricer or food mill. (I actually press the potatoes without peeling as the peel stays inside the ricer)&nbsp;

Place the riced potatoes in a large bowl and add the eggs, a pinch of salt, the yeast and enough flour to make a dough that is the same consistency of gnocchi dough. (I started with 250g but added a bit more as the dough seemed too wet) 

Mix ingredients together. Then turn out onto a floured pastry or pasta board. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, then let rest covered with a cloth or tea towel for 30 minutes.

Make the dough

In the meantime, cook the spinach with just a tablespoon of water until wilted. Drain and press out any excess liquid. Chop finely

Peel and finely chop the onions and fry until soft in melted butter.

In a large frying pan or skillet, heat a little olive oil over , then add the cooked onion, cooked spinach, ground veal, and chopped sausage meat, and cook over a medium-high heat until the meat is nicely browned. Season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and allow to cool.

Make the filling

Cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll one quarter of pasta dough out into a rectangle of 9-10 cm wide until it is about 3-5 mm thick. You can use a pasta machine to do this, but I didn’t. Place a scant tablespoons of the filling along one side of the rectangle at about 3-5 cm apart and 1cm away from the edge.&nbsp;

Fold the pasta over the filling and press down around the filling. Cut out the ofelle/ravioli squares with a serrated pasta wheel. I then used a fork to make a ‘frill’ along each side of the ofelle and seal the filling inside. Set the ofelle aside on a floured surface or plate.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add salt and bring to a boil again. Cook the ofelle in the boiling water until they are tender and cooked through. They will probably rise to the surface when almost ready. Then cook for another minute. In total give them about 4 minutes.&nbsp;

While the ofelle are cooking melt the rest of the butter in a small pan.

Drain and place the ofelle in a serving bowl or plate. Drizzle some melted butter over them, top with grated Montasio or Parmigiano Reggiano and serve immediately.

Make your ofelle alla Triestina

These delicious baked ravioli are a typical Easter recipe from Central Italy. Piconi ascolani are not difficult to make and so delicious you will always wish you had made more. Traditionally eaten for Easter breakfast but are great as finger food or antipasto.

Piconi Ascolani: baked ravioli from Le Marche

'00' flour ((14 ounces)

150 g pecorino ((5 ounces) aged/mature)

g pecorino ((3.5 ounces) semi-mature)

tsp black pepper

lemon

egg (beaten to brush ravioli)

Beat the eggs for at least 5 minutes with the help of a whisk to incorporate air.  Grate all the cheese into a separate bowl and then gradually add to the beaten eggs. Add a pinch of salt and a little black pepper plus the lemon zest.&nbsp;

Mix everything together well until you have a soft dough-like mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest. Some people recommend up to 8 hours in the fridge. Others say for 30 minutes!

Place the flour in the center of a pastry board or in a bowl, add the 4 eggs to the center and with the help of a fork begin to beat the eggs whilst incorporating the flour. Add the extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt and continue to mix with your hands until you have a ‘dough’.&nbsp;

If you started in a bowl finish kneading on a floured pasta/pastry board. Continue to knead until you have a homogeneous and elastic dough. (alternatively you can use a dough mixer to make the pasta dough)

Roll the dough into a ball and cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for at least 30 minutes to one hour.&nbsp;

Divide the dough into 4-6 pieces. Using a rolling pin or pasta machine roll out a thin sheets of pasta dough (about 1mm thick). Do one piece of dough at a time leaving the rest wrapped in cling film or in a freezer bag so it won’t dry out.

With a pastry cutter, bowl or glass, cut out discs of about 7-9 centimeters in diameter from the dough. Place some egg and cheese filling in the center of each disc. Then fold the disc into a half moon. Cut around the edge of the filled ravioli using a pasta wheel. This will help to seal the edges of the ravioli.&nbsp;

Place the ravioli on an oil sprayed baking paper sheet in an flat oven dish. Brush the surface of the piconi with the lightly beaten egg and using the tip of a pair of scissors cut a small cross into the centre of the surface.

Bake at 160 ° - 170 ° C in a preheated oven for about 25 minutes, or at least until golden. Once cooked, leave the baked ravioli to cool on a wire rack for a few minutes.

Serve as finger food or as part of an antipasto or breakfast spread.

Make the piconi ascolani

Top 4 filled pasta recipes from across the web

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Spinach & Nutmeg Cannelloni

Tortelli Piacentini burro e salvia

Ofelle alla Triestina (Gnocchi Ravi...

Piconi Ascolani: baked ravioli from...

Top 4 filled pasta recipes from across the web

The most viewed filled pasta recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Spinach & Nutmeg Cannelloni

Tortelli Piacentini burro e salvia

Ofelle alla Triestina (Gnocchi Ravi...

Piconi Ascolani: baked ravioli from...

The most viewed filled pasta recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine