This spinach roll recipe is classic Italian Jewish Cooking, and will work very well at a festive meal, for example Hanukkah. To serve 6 you will need:
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- ** For the Pasta **
- 2 eggs
- 1 2/3 cups (200 g) flour
- ** For the Filling **
- 2 1/4 pounds (1 k) spinach
- 3/4 cup (150 g) unsalted butter
- 3/4 pound (320 g) fresh ricotta (the kind sold by delicatessens)
- 2 cups (100 g) grated Parmigiano
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Melted butter and more grated cheese for the serving dish
Preparation:
Make pasta dough from the eggs and the flour (see instructions if need be, and I might add a pinch of salt to the dough).Wash the spinach, chop it coarsely, and sauté it for a few minutes in the butter. Then reduce the flame, cook it for about 10 minutes more, and let it cool. Work the ricotta with a fork until it is soft, then stir in the spinach, nutmeg, and Parmigiano, and season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper.
Roll the dough into a rectangle that's dime-thin. Spread the spinach mixture evenly over the sheet of dough and roll it up into a log. Wrap the log in a linen cloth and tie it at both ends and in the middle. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil and carefully lay the log in flat. When the water resumes boiling cover the pot, reduce the flame, and simmer the log for 20 minutes. Remove it with care, untie the strings, open the cloth, cut the log into half-inch slices, and lay them on a warmed serving dish. Sprinkle the slices with a little more butter, dust them with some cheese, and serve.
The wine? A crisp white, for example a good Sauvignon from Friuli.
