Spinach, Ham and Ricotta Cannelloni in Rosé Sauce
Homemade green spinach crêpes filled with ricotta, ham and walnuts, baked under a creamy rosé sauce. The celebration dish of Italian-Argentine cooking, made for feeding a crowd.
These are crêpes, not pasta sheets — the spinach goes into the batter, not just the filling, which is what makes them lighter than the pasta version.
The batter rests 30-60 minutes in the refrigerator before it hits the pan. Without that rest the gluten stays tight and the crêpes tear exactly when you flip them.
The same green crêpes, unfilled, are the spinach and cheese crêpes.
Same spinach and ricotta, shaped as dumplings instead of rolled: the malfatti.
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 4 heaping tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 2 cups cooked and blended spinach (for the batter)
- 400 g ricotta
- 200 g cooked ham, in strips
- 1 red bell pepper, sautéed and cut into strips
- 3 cups raw spinach, chopped (for the filling)
- 1 cup walnuts, crushed
- 2 onions, sliced and sautéed
- 200 ml heavy cream (double cream), split between filling and sauce
- 200 ml tomato purée
- 1 onion, grated (for the sauce)
- 1/2 garlic clove, chopped
- Butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, nutmeg and grated cheese
Method
- 1
For the crêpes: blend the cooked spinach with the flour, the eggs, a splash of oil and water. Rest the batter in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes — without it the crêpes tear when you flip them. Cook them in a pan with butter on both sides.
- 2
For the filling: in a bowl, mix the ricotta, the chopped raw spinach, the sautéed onions, the ham, the pepper and the walnuts. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Loosen with 100 ml of the cream.
- 3
Assembly: put a generous portion of filling down the center of each crêpe and roll them up.
- 4
For the rosé sauce: in a small pot, cook the grated onion with the garlic in oil or butter. Add the tomato purée and the remaining 100 ml of cream. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and cook until it comes together.
- 5
Arrange the cannelloni in an ovenproof dish, cover with the rosé sauce and sprinkle generously with grated cheese.
- 6
Bake at 170-180 °C until the filling is hot and the cheese has browned.
The Ricotta Universe: Freshness and Flavor in Every Recipe
Mild, delicate and enormously versatile, ricotta is the star of our family table. We take you step by step through everything you can make with it, from traditional savory dishes of the Mediterranean to Slavic and regional baking. With tips on handling, draining and baking so that every one of them comes out right.
