Spinach manicotti 

A classic first course of Italian cuisine to enjoy with the family. An ideal recipe for Easter lunch. Manicotti with ricotta and spinach are a very tasty and hearty first course, based on pasta, spinach and ricotta, all covered with delicious béchamel sauce. To prepare manicotti with ricotta and spinach you can use dried pasta, ready to be stuffed, or, as in our case, use sheets of fresh egg pasta, which can be purchased in all supermarkets, or prepared by yourself. Follow the instructions below to perfectly execute the recipe and amaze all your guests.

The béchamel sauce is one of the most versatile basic sauces in the kitchen: easy and quick to make, it is perfect for giving an edge to many different dishes, from lasagna to baked pasta, such as au gratin with fennel for example, up to spinach or chicken breast! His paternity is claimed by both the French and the Italians. The most accredited hypothesis is that it was Catherine de 'Medici who imported it to France with the name it had then, "glue sauce". But it is thanks to the courtier Louis de Béchamel that it then took the name of béchamel sauce despite Pellegrino Artusi preferred to Italianize it in his recipe book with the name of "balsamella", now in disuse. Discover all the secrets to get a creamy and lump-free béchamel sauce and I bet that you will never resort to the packaged one again!

INGREDIENTS béchamel sauce

Whole milk 1 liter

Butter 100 g

Flour 100 g

Salt 1 pinch

Grated nutmeg to taste

PREPARATION

To prepare the béchamel sauce first pour the milk into a saucepan, add nutmeg and salt, then let it warm up. Put the butter in another saucepan and let it melt over low heat, then add the flour at once. Mix vigorously with a hand whisk to avoid lumping. Continue stirring until you get a golden mixture, the roux. At this point dilute the roux by first pouring a little hot milk and then everything else. Continue stirring over low heat until the desired consistency is reached; Cooking the béchamel sauce for 5-6 minutes you will get an average density. Your béchamel sauce is ready to be used!

Ingredients manicotti

Grana Padano 150 gr

Nutmeg

Extra virgin olive oil 4 tablespoons

Pasta fresh pasta sheets 250 gr

Pepper to taste

Ricotta 500 gr

Salt to taste

Béchamel sauce 500 ml 

Spinach frozen 500 gr

Egg 1

Preparation 

Boil for 5 minutes, in a little salted water, the spinach still frozen; Drain them in a colander, let them cool and squeeze them, with your hands, so as to eliminate all the water. With the help of a knife, or if you prefer use a kitchen mixer, finely chop the now cold spinach. Add the ricotta, egg, grated cheese, nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Mix all the ingredients to obtain a well-blended mixture. Take the sheets of dough and cut out rectangles measuring 10 cm x 8 cm; blanch the rectangles of dough for 2 minutes in salted water, drain and place them on a cotton cloth to dry. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each rectangle and fold gently so as to obtain cylinders. Proceed in the same way until all the rectangles of dough and all the filling is exhausted. Grease a baking sheet with 4 tablespoons of olive oil and a little béchamel sauce; Place all your cannelloni in the pan, forming a single layer, with the part of the closure facing downwards. Cover with the remaining béchamel sauce, sprinkle with Grana Padano cheese and place the pan in a hot oven at 200 C degrees for 20 minutes. Before removing the manicotti from the oven, turn on the grill function of your oven in order to gratin the surface of the ricotta and spinach manicotti.