Ingredients (serves 4-6):

500g Cannelloni
300g fresh spinach leaves
250g peeled tomatoes
250g strained cottage cheese
200g ham
80 g parmesan
3 cloves of garlic
1 egg
1 onion
1 bay leaf
10 tbsp of high quality olive oil
salt and pepper

For the béchamel:

1 l milk

30g butter

5 tbsp flour

pinch of nutmeg

Make the béchamel from the butter and flour in a large saucepan, gradually adding milk while continually stirring. Add salt and nutmeg to taste.

Method:

To make the sauce, firstly fry the finely chopped onion in oil. Add the peeled tomatoes, a bay leaf and salt and pepper. Begin to make the pasta filling – simmer the fine slices of garlic in oil. add the rinsed spinach leaves and simmer further for a few minutes. Once cooled, add the ham cut into cubes, cottage cheese, salt and egg. Using a spoon, fill the Cannelloni with the spinach. Put a couple of tablespoons of the tomato sauce and béchamel into a baking dish. Arrange the Cannelloni tubes in a row making two layers, covering each layer with tomato sauce and a couple of tablespoons of béchamel. Sprinkle grated parmesan over the final layer and cover with aluminium foil. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C on the hot-air program for about 45 minutes. Remove the aluminium foil for the final 10 minutes and complete the baking process under the grill with ventilation program.