Divine cannelloni with spinach and feta cheese without béchamel

Chryssa Kakiori
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Few combinations are as foolproof as cannelloni with a succulent spinach and feta filling and a homemade tomato sauce with basil and melted cheese. Easy, delicious and suitable for vegetarians, these cannelloni can be prepared when you have time, put in the freezer, and baked when you have friends over or when you want to enjoy comfort food at its best.

Ingredients for 4-6 people

  • For the sauce: 1 tbsp. olive oil 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 small onion, chopped
  • 800 g. finely chopped peeled tomatoes 1 cup lukewarm water (rinse the can of tomatoes with this)
  • 3/4 tbsp. salt
  • freshly chopped pepper 1 handful basil leaves (or 1 tbsp dried oregano, thyme, basil)
  • For the filling: 450 g spinach (frozen) 250 g feta cheese, grated
  • 250 g anthotyro 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1 cup melting cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, gruyere) 1 egg
  • 1 large clove garlic, minced 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
  • For the cannelloni: 18 – 22 cannelloni 1 – 1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella basil for garnish (optional)

Instructions

Step 1: Prepare the sauce. In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, water and salt and pepper.

Step 2: Stir, reduce the heat and let the water reduce for about 5 minutes. Add the basil leaves or whatever herbs you are using and set aside.

Step 3: Prepare the filling. Place the spinach in a colander and squeeze out most of the liquid. (it does not need to be completely dry)

Step 4: Put the spinach in a large bowl with the rest of the filling ingredients: feta cheese, anthotyro, parmesan, mozzarella, egg, garlic, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Taste and adjust, as different cheeses have different salt content.

Step 5: Prepare for assembly and baking. Preheat the oven to 180C, and choose a 21 x 26 cm baking dish or pyrex.

Step 6: Spread some of the tomato sauce on the baking dish. Start filling the cannelloni. If you don’t have a piping bag, do it by hand and a knife. And place them next to each other on the baking dish.

Step 7: Once all the cannelloni are filled, pour all the tomato sauce over them, covering them. Cover with wet and crumpled baking paper and bake for 25 minutes.

Step 8: Remove the paper and add the grated mozzarella. Put back in the oven to melt the cheese.

Step 9: Serve, garnished with extra basil. Serve with a green salad and rosé wine.

Tips

  • I use frozen spinach for convenience. If I have a big mood and fresh spinach at my disposal, before adding it to the filling, I cut it into large pieces, sauté it with a little olive oil and remove most of the liquid.
  • In the cheese section, we can improvise, using any cheese we like, making sure that they are not too hard and dry, because when baked they will not be very juicy and moist. Do not skip the parmesan – because it adds character to the flavor.
  • Instead of cannelloni, we can use lasagna and divide the filling into two doses, and spreading lasagna, both on the bottom and on top.
  • Prepare the recipe and put it in the freezer. It is a good idea to add 3/4 cup of water to the sauce (because when cooling, the cannelloni will absorb more liquid and the sauce will dry out when baked). Put them in the freezer or refrigerator. You can bake the lasagna without defrosting, for 35 minutes covered with paper and 10 minutes, without covering with cheese.
  • Nutmeg gives a wonderful aromatic touch.

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