best pasta – My Whisk and I

1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
400g baby spinach
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomato
450g ricotta cheese
150-200g cannelloni pasta (about 16 tubes)
a handful of basil leaves
250g mozzarella cheese, sliced

Preheat your oven to 180℃

Place a large pan on a medium-high heat and add a splash of olive oil to it.
Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent.
Add the garlic and stir-fry for one minute.
Now add the baby spinach and cook until just wilted.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Chop the mixture and add it to a mixing bowl with the ricotta cheese.
Season with salt and pepper and scoop it all into a piping bag.
Add the tomato to a small saucepan and gently cook it down to get rid of the moisture – about 15 minutes on medium heat.
Now fill each cannelloni tube with the spinach mixture. Pipe it in as tight as you can get it and arrange it tightly in a 28cm x 18cm ceramic dish.
Spoon the tomato mixture over and spread it out evenly so that it covers all of the pasta.
Now sprinkle the basil leaves over and lay the mozzarella slices on top.
Bake the cannelloni for 35 minutes until golden.

This recipe is easy, quick and really big on flavour. The recipe will feed 8 hungry adults.

500g dried pasta
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
a handful of parsley
a handful of basil
2 heads of broccoli ( I know it sounds like you are about to feed an army!!!)
5ml salt
2,5ml black pepper
1 stock cube
250g cream cheese
30ml lemon juice

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
Cut the broccoli florets from the stems and add them to the pasta during the last 2 minutes of cooking time.
Reserve 250ml of the pasta water before draining the pasta and the broccoli florets. Keep aside.
Chop the broccoli stems and add them to a large saucepan with a good dash of vegetable oil.
Turn the heat on to medium and add the onion and garlic. Cook until the onions are soft.
Add the 250ml pasta water and the stock cube and cook until the broccoli stems are soft.
Take the saucepan off the heat and pour the mixture into a liquidiser.
Add the parsley and basil and blitz. You are aiming to have a chunky, very thick sauce.
Pour this sauce back into the saucepan, add the salt and pepper and then stir the cream cheese into the mixture. Keep stirring until the cheese has melted and is incorporated into the rest of the sauce.
Add the lemon juice and stir through.
Now add the pasta and the broccoli florets. Stir the mixture so that everything is coated in the sauce.
Serve immediately.

Tag: best pasta

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