Ingredients

Method

For the filling:
• 350 g baby spinach, blanched and squeezed dry
• 350 g ricotta
• 50 g Parmesan, finely grated
• ½ t fresh nutmeg, grated
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
For the pasta:
• 600 g flour
• 6 free-range eggs
• 1 t olive oil (optional)
For the tomato sauce:
• 2 baby leeks, finely chopped
• ½ cup olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 x 400 g can whole peeled tomatoes
• 4 T Woolworths tomato paste with vegetable soffritto
For the burnt butter:
• 150 g butter
• 10 g fresh sage, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, juiced

Method

Ingredients

To make the filling, place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined.

To make the pasta, place the flour in a bowl and make a well. Add the eggs and mix until a soft dough forms. Knead until elastic and soft. Alternatively, mix in a food processor using either the dough hook or paddle attachment. If the dough feels very tight, add 1 t olive oil. Rest for 5 minutes under a damp tea towel.

Dust the dough with a little flour and roll out using a pasta machine or rolling pin. Place the pasta on a floured work surface and cut into 3 lengths of 30 x 15 cm each.

Lightly flour a clean tea towel and lay the pasta sheets on it vertically. Brush the long edges with water, then overlap slightly to make a rectangle of about 45 x 30 cm.

Spread the filling onto the pasta leaving a 3 cm border. Roll up the pasta in the tea towel and secure with string.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove and cut off the string, unroll the tea towel and slice then pasta into 8 discs.

To make the tomato sauce, fry the leeks in a little olive oil until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes.

To make the burnt butter, melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat and cook until it turns brown and has a nutty aroma. Add the sage and remove from the heat. Serve the rotolo with the tomato sauce and burnt butter.

Cook's note: The other half of my family married into an Italian family and their nonna used to make rolls of rotolo for special occasions. It’s still a firm favourite of mine – my twist on the classic version is to make a double sauce – tomato and burnt butter.

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