{recipe} spinach and mushroom cannelloni

Image by Taste and Tell.

When I first found this recipe, I was a little bit weary to try it out. The ingredients list was long & the directions seemed a bit confusing. Once I sat down and really read through it though, I realized that I had many of the ingredients already listed and that the hardest part of this dish would be getting the timing right! I had time last night after I finished babysitting to devote to making this somewhat time-consuming dish, and every minute I spent on it was completely worth it! It actually turned out being quite fun to make and I think I found the base recipe I will start using regularly to make my own quick and easy marinara sauce. I didn't take any pictures because my hands were pretty much covered in onion or ricotta or marinara sauce the entire time. I am going to try to tackle more recipes like this one for the rest of the summer. The original recipe called for 3 cups of spinach and 2 cups of mushrooms but I felt that it needed more than that. My changes are indicated below. Enjoy!

{Recipe adapted from Taste and Tell Blog}

serves 6-8

total time:  about 1 hour

Ingredients:

Filling:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

6 cups fresh spinach

8 oz sliced mushrooms (or about 3 cups)

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Marinara:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

Dash crushed red pepper - Next time I would add more for a spicier sauce.

3 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Salt and pepper, to taste

Pasta:

1 box No-Boil Lasagna Noodles

Topping:

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare a 9×13 baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray.

Make the filling: Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender. Stir in the spinach and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are soft and the spinach is wilted; remove from heat. While it is cooking, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan in a large bowl. Add the egg and mix in. When the spinach/mushroom mixture is finished cooking, mix it in along with the seasonings. Set aside.

Make the marinara:  Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onions are soft.  Stir in the tomato paste and let cook for 60 seconds.  Stir in the red pepper flake and the diced tomatoes.  Add the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Let simmer and cook down slightly for about 20 minutes.

While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of water to a boil and season with salt.  Add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes.  (The noodles will not be cooked all the way through, but will finish cooking in the oven.)  Carefully remove them from the water and lay them flat on a wire cooling rack.

To assemble:  Take about 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce and spread it in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.  Spread about 1/4 cup of the ricotta mixture on the short side of each lasagna noodle.  Put 1 tablespoon of the marinara on top of the ricotta mixture, then roll up the noodle.  Transfer to the baking dish with the seam side down.  Continue will all of the noodles and filling.  Top with the remaining sauce and the mozzarella cheese.  Cover pan with foil.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling.  Remove the foil and bake for until the cheese has browned and is bubbling, about 5 minutes.