Silverbeet & Kale Canneloni

Silverbeet & Kale Cannelloni 

This is one of our family FAVOURITES!!

This recipe both my own kids love and have grown up eating, it is right up there with spaghetti  bolognaise and homemade pizza as an all time favourite meal and one we cook together as it is a great kids in the kitchen meal, they can even harvest the greens for it too as i alwasy try and have plenty of silverbeet, so they are really seeing food from garden to kitchen to plate.
This can also be made ahead and frozen for a ready-made dinner. Perfect for entertaining or just a delicious family meal. Meal planning friendly. Serves 6.

Ingredients
• 1 x 500gm tub Ricotta Cheese
• 1 box gluten free Cannelloni Shells
• 1 big bunch silverbeet leaves, washed and very finely chopped (or spinach)
• 1 cup of fresh kale, washed and finely chopped (around 4 large leaves or so)
• 1 large jar Tomato Pasta Sauce (or 2 cups homemade tomato pasta sauce)
• ¼ cup grated Cheddar Cheese and 1 clove garlic very finely chopped (optional)
• Baking Dish

Method
• Preheat oven to 180’c.
• Wilt the silverbeet and kale together slightly in a saucepan on a low heat with a tablespoon of water for a few seconds only.
• Remove from saucepan, drain and squeeze all excess water out
• Mix together spinach, kale, garlic and ricotta cheese in a bowl.
• In a deep baking dish pour a thin layer of the tomato pasta sauce to make a ‘bed’ for the cannelloni shells to lay on.
• Stuff each cannelloni shell with the spinach mixture and arrange so they are touching completely filling the baking dish.
• Pour a layer of tomato mixture over the top, use a butter knife to let the sauce run down between the shells.
• Top with the grated cheese.
• Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until tubes are cooked through and it is nicely browned on top.
• Serve hot with a fresh, leafy green salad.

Notes
• This is a meal that the whole family and even fussy eaters will enjoy.
• A delicious and cheap to make recipe, even more so if you grow your own spinach and kale.
• Make a double batch so you can freeze one portion for another night.
• Halve the quantities for a smaller family meal serving size or freeze leftovers for another night.
• A popular dish for dinner parties.
• You could optionally add garlic and/or 1 teaspoon nutmeg to the mixture.
• You can use defrosted, frozen spinach
or silver-beet in place of the spinach leaves.
 Just ensure all is wilted and excess water removed


Toddler Tip
• This is a great dish for when little ones are getting into solids that are also the family meal. Cut up into really small pieces.
• It can be messy but kids love this, make their servings nice and saucy.
• A great recipe to make with the kids, they will love mixing and stuffing all the tubes.

I use kale, spinach and sillverbeet (pictured with my youngest here) in so much of my cooking, I literally put them in almost anything! Full of nutrients and so very easy to grow organically at home.
Baby spinach is just so delightful and silverbeet is almost a fail

safe to grow.
Anyone really can grow it, if your not a gardener, this is one veggie I really urge you to have a go at. It's fast growing, forgiving, attractive so you even plant in amongst established gardens and can be used in so much cooking and things like juicing.

·        

Kale (Brassica Oleracea)
As modeled here by Mr Ryan Gosling -
Image Source is a green leafy vegetable considered to be one of the highest in nutrients with many health benefits including
it is said, having anti – cancer effects so it is well
worth tracking down or growing your own.
It is very easy to grow and is an attractive green (and sometimes purple or even black depending on the variety) leafy plant.
Throw some in your flower beds for edible foliage contrast too!
Simply sew seed straight into prepared garden beds
with good drainage, in the full sun as you would cabbage. It is a quick crop making it a great vegetable to grow with kids and even on sunny balconies, in tubs and large pots. It is pretty hardy and not too bad with garden pests, though like us caterpillars and grasshoppers also appreciate its healthy lush leaves too!
There are many varieties available and it is also excellent in juicing and often made into kale “chips”.

Not a new thing. kale was in fact a very popular vegetable in the middle ages it was considered the most widely eaten vegetable in Europe. It also has ancestry in Russia and Greece and there is even a related plant that is very similar used in Chinese cooking called kale in English Brassica oleracea.While recently becoming a popular superfood in the US and Australia in recent times it is a popular food source in many parts of the world and has been for a long time. During World War II it was also in the Dig for Victory campaign  in the UK because of its nutrient content.

This recipe has been published in Holistic Bliss magazine and I also re-created it with local cheeses, styled and photographed it for client Maleny IGA Supermarket to use on their
Local Product Local Recipe - recipe card series I did for them.
Contact me for commercial ventures and proposals. 

Recipe and photography (c)RebeccaMugridge2013

Kenilworth Cheese Festival and Ricotta, Carrot & Zucchini Rolls

A fabulous and easy recipe the kids will LOVE 

Kids love pastry. They love sausage rolls and party pies but as a parent you can be horrified at some of the ingredients and fat content in the ones you buy, sometimes ingredients you can't even pronounce! Which is why it is so exciting and rewarding to make your own.

This is a great, really quick and easy recipe and the kids can even help make it,and it is very budget friendly too!  

In this recipe I have used a beautiful local ricotta cheese by Kenilworth Cheese.

Kenilworth is a gorgeous little inland town in South East Queensland, a very picturesque spot and home to the fantastic family fun day out

the Kenilworth Cheese Festival

Mark the date for this festival in your diaries as it is a fantastic day out with so much to do, see and taste and lots of fun for the kids.

They even have
Cheese rolling and a cheese hunt for the kids.

We had a great time! It was a really fun day out and you come home with cheese!
It is also a really lovely drive out there and you can make a day of it, taking in the hinterland and surrounds.

Ingredients

• 250g Kenilworth fresh ricotta cheese
• 2 large carrots
• 1 large zucchini
• ½ cup grated Kenilworth mild cheddar cheese
• 1 Rawganix free range egg
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• salt
• 4 sheets reduced fat or gluten free puff pastry

Method

• Pre heat oven to 180`c.
• Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
• Remove pastry from freezer and let thaw slightly.
• Combine the egg and ricotta, mix together and add in turmeric and a pinch of salt.
• Add the grated carrot, zucchini and cheese, combine well.
• Cut each sheet in half. Put a layer of mixture down the centre of each piece.
• Roll closed with the pastry rolling over itself so you end up with two long rolls.
• Cut into desired lengths.
• Brush them lightly with beaten egg.
• Bake until golden brown and pastry is cooked.
• Serve!

Notes

• Add some fresh chili for a more adult version.
• The addition of some curry powder or curry paste gives a different version.
• Freeze for your own healthy version of takeaway for those times when you want a quick and easy dinner.
• I have used turmeric in this recipe for its great health properties with my own children, you can leave out.
• Great cold in the school lunchboxes!

Toddler Tips

• Make them nice and small so they are toddler hand sized
• Serve with a toddler salad of salad greens, boiled eggs, fresh crunch snow peas, cherry tomatoes, avocado and some sunflower seeds.

This is a recipe I created for client Maleny IGA and their Local Product Local Recipe - recipe card series promoting and celebrating local products from the Sunshine Coast Region.
Collect and keep the Local Products Local recipe Cards instore from the Maleny IGA.
©RebeccaMugridge2012
Maleny Supa IGA have an extensive range of kenilworth cheese products in store.