Carmela's pasta spinach roulade
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 500g fresh egg pasta dough
- For the filling:
- 500g ricotta
- 600g spinach, blanched
- 100g Grana Padano, grated
- 1 egg yolk
- ½ tsp freshy grated nutmeg
- small bunch basil, roughly torn
- salt and pepper
- For the sauce:
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
- 600g passata
- bunch basil leaves, roughly torn
- pinch dried oregano
- salt and pepper
Method
- For the filling, place the ricotta in a large bowl and break up a little with a wooden spoon. Ensure the spinach is well squeezed to eliminate excess moisture, then chop it and combine it with the ricotta. Add the Grana Padano, egg yolk, nutmeg and basil to the ricotta mixture, season and stir well. Cover with cling film and chill while you prepare the pasta dough.
- When the dough is made, roll it out to the thickness of a 50p piece, approx 40cm long and 25cm wide. Place the pasta onto a
- piece of cling film on top of a
- piece of muslin slightly bigger than the dough. Spread the ricotta mix all over the pasta dough, leaving a 1cm gap all the way round. Lift the cling film and use it to help you roll the pasta into a sausage (strucolo). Roll the muslin around the cling-filmed pasta and secure firmly with string. Lay the pasta in a fish kettle and fill it with water. Salt well and gently boil for 30 mins.
- To make the sauce, pour the olive oil into a small sauté pan, add the garlic and fry over a low heat for 1 min. Add the passata, basil and oregano. Stir and cook for 25 mins, season with salt and pepper.
- Preheat oven to 190C/Gas 5. Once the pasta is cooked, remove from the heat, allow to cool for 15 mins, then unwrap. Spoon half the sauce into the base of an ovenware dish. Slice the strucolo into 3cm discs and place on top of the sauce.
- Spoon the remaining tomato sauce on top of the strucolo and sprinkle over some freshly grated Grana Padano. Bake for 15 mins. Serve on warmed plates.
