Spinach and Ricotta Rotolo

Rotolo is one of those dished that looks amazing, but is really pretty easy to make. I made mine with the classic spinach and ricotta filling, but any classic Italian pasta combination will work, Bolognese, sausage and cavalo nero, pumpkin and sage, and so on . . . Anything you can spread on your pasta dough and roll will work. You could also change the pasta dough to any coloured, or flavoured, pasta dough you please.

The great thing about rotolo is how impressive it looks, but it really is simple to put together. It is one of those dishes, all the preparation can be down in advance and put together just before you need it.

For your pasta

• 200g of 00 flour

  
  

• 2 eggs

  
  

• Pinch of salt

For your filling

• 800g spinach

  
  

• 400g ricotta

  
  

• 20g Parmesan, finely grated

  
  

• 2 sprigs of oregano, leaves only

  
  

• Zest of 1 lemon

  
  

• Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

  
  

• salt and pepper

  
  

For your tomato sauce

• Dash extra virgin olive oil

  
  

• 4 garlic cloves, sliced

  
  

• 2 tins of chopped tomatoes (I use Mutti, but any good brand will do)

  
  

• salt and pepper

To make . . .

1. First, make your pasta. Sieve the flour on to clean surface and make a well in the centre. Place the eggs into the middle and use a fork to stir, slowly mixing the flour little by little. Once eggs and flour are mixed together, use your hands to bring form a dough, then knead for around 5 minutes. Wrap in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for around an hour.

   
   

2. Next, make your tomato sauce. Drizzle a good dash of olive oil into a pan and gently sauté the sliced garlic until soft but not coloured. Pour in your tins of tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to simmer, stirring to prevent over cooking. Take off the heat and cool. If you are making far in advance , once cooled pop in fridge till needed.

   
   

3. Now make your spinach and ricotta filling, in a hot dry pan, wilt your spinach in batches. Once cool enough to hold, squeeze the spinach to remove excess water then roughly chop it. Place your chopped spinach into a bowl, add the ricotta, Parmesan and oregano leaves and mix well. Finally, add a little freshly grated nutmeg, lemon zest and season with salt and pepper. Pop in the fridge till needed.

   
   
   
   

4. Next, grab your pasta machine. Roll your pasta dough out so you can roll it through the machine easily. Starting at the widest setting roll your dough through three or four times, folding it together again between rolls. This will help get the glutens working , which will give you a soft, silky smooth pasta. Start working down to the thinnest setting. You will now have a long pasta sheet, so cut in half, then brush one edge of one sheet with a little water place the other onto it and join up the two sheets to create a large, wide rectangle (See photo below).

   
   

   

5. You can cook your rotolo in a clean, piece of muslin or a clean white tea towel. A word of advice, don't use a coloured tea towel, the colour may bleed out during cooking and colour your pasta dough. I did it once !!!

   
   

6. Now spread your spinach and ricotta filling over the whole sheet, using a palette knife.#

   
   

7. Carefully, roll up your rotolo, using the muslin or tea towel to help, It should look like a pasta Swiss roll.

   
   

   

8. Carefully tie each end with butchers string, it should look like a Christmas cracker. If your rotolo is long, tie a few times in the middle to keep it together, A good tip is leave a longish length of string at one end, This will help lift the rotolo in and out of the water when cooking.

   
   

   

9. Cook the rotolo in a large pan of salted boiling water for 15 minutes. While it is cooking preheat your oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.

   
   

10. Carefully lift your rotolo out of the water, watch your fingers. Your rotolo should feel firm to touch. Lay on a work surface and carefully remove the muslin or tea towel. With a good, sharp knife, slice the rotolo into 6 or 8 equal slices.

    
    

    

11. Now to finish off your rotolo. Ladle enough of your tomato sauce to cover the base of an ovenproof dish and place your rotolo slices, spiral up, into the dish. Finally, cover with plenty of grated Parmesan and put in the oven for 10 minutes until the Parmesan has melted and coloured slightly.

    
    

    

    
    

12. Serve and enjoy.

    
    

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