Cannelloni with Spinach, Ricotta and Bacon

One of the oldest types of pasta is often prepared with a minced meat stuffing. However, this version of the recipe is an Italian classic.

With the addition of some bacon, it seduces even more, while thanks to the spinach it remains a dish which is rich in vitamins, calcium and iron.

Laziness Factor: 3

[where 0 is brushing your teeth and 4 is winning the Wimbledon Championship]

Ingredients for 5 people:

– 20 pieces of cannelloni

– 4 spring onions (or 1 red onion)

– 100-150g spinach (fresh or frozen)

– 500g ricotta cheese

– 75g bacon

– some dill

– 100-150g grated hard cheese (parmesan, pecorino, etc.)

– salt, pepper, olive oil

For the bechamel sauce:

– 50g butter

– 50g white flour

– 1¼ cup (250 ml) of milk

– nutmeg, salt

 

Here is a video version of this recipe:

1.

Start by slicing the spring onions.

 

2.

Put some unsalted water in a pot and bring it to a boil.

 

3.

Put your spinach in -whether fresh or frozen- and leave it until soft for 4-5 minutes.

 

4.

At the same time, add your bacon and the sliced onions in a pan with very little oil.

 

5.

When the onions are soft enough, take the spinach out of the water and add it in the pan.

 

6.

Immediately add the ricotta and stir.

 

7.

Also add some dill and some salt. Don’t let the mix over heat for more than 3-4 minutes.

 

8.

Start stuffing the cannelloni with this mix. Just when you finish, turn your oven on at 190 °C.

 

9.

Start making the bechamel sauce. Melt the butter in a cooking pot over medium heat.

 

10.

When all the butter has melted, start adding the flour, stirring until smooth.

 

 

11.

Then add the milk, splashing a little every time and whisking thoroughly.

 

 

12.

In the end, you must have got a very smooth cream. Then add the nutmeg and some salt.

 

 

13.

Lay the bechamel over the cannelloni and cover with the grated cheese. Put in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

 

14.

You’ll probably know your pasta is ready when the bechamel and the cheese start turning red on top.

 

15.

Bon appetit!

 

Alternative pasta scenario:

You can make this dish suitable for vegetarians by simply leaving the bacon out. Most of the taste that makes it exceptional will remain…

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Lazy Pasta is the page to explore the world's collection of easy pasta recipes - and then some more elaborate ones. As our life has become faster, you can also try our quick recipes that use favourite pasta types like spaghetti, lasagne, fusilli and rigatoni, that are combined to create simple pasta dishes.

All the Lazy Pasta recipes are presented in photos, which guide through the step-by-step process, and they all end up with their respective pasta recipe video.

Categories of pasta recipes

Lazy Pasta recipes are divided into categories: there are vegetarian pasta recipes, pasta recipes with meat, pasta recipes with seafood and fish, pasta salads, pasta soups and recipes with baked pasta.

The recipe presented above is Cannelloni with Spinach, Ricotta and Bacon and it belongs to the Pasta Bake recipes category.

Why pasta?

Pasta is a great ingredient for quick and delicious dishes. Perfect pasta dishes don't always have to be hard to prepare. According to Lazy Pasta there is "an easy pasta recipe for every human on the planet".

Although it's hard to tell which country pasta originates from (whether it's Italy or China), the history of pasta is long and interesting.

Truth be told, pasta has become popular as an ingredient of the Italian cuisine and it forms part of the Mediterranean diet. Pasta dishes can be ordered and devoured in various Italian restaurants all around the world.

The secret of the pasta may lie in its simplicity. It is usually made of white flour or wheat flour, but today we also have the options of whole wheat pasta and, more recently, gluten-free pasta.

Then again, the list of ingredients that can be used in a pasta recipe is endless; The sauce can be anything for a simple tomato sauce to bechamel sauce, white sauce with cream or other dressings. Garlics and onions are great friends of pasta, vegetables and other greens like parsley, dill, spinach, zucchini, peppers, broccoli and mint can be found in various recipes, while cheese is an absolute ticket to success, either grated, sliced or baked on top.

No matter how elaborate a pasta recipe is, the result can be mouth-watering and is certain to please everyone's palate.