Pancake Cannelloni with Spinach and Four Cheeses

First of all, make the pancakes as described in the Basic Pancakes recipe below, but no need to have sugar or lemon to serve.

These pancakes should be thicker so use 2 tablespoons (ie 4 dessertspoons) of batter for each pancake.  You should end up with 12-14 pancakes.  If you haven't made pancakes before, you can watch how to in our Cookery School Video, just click the recipe image to play. Now make the sauce by placing the milk, butter, flour and bay leaf in a saucepan and bring everything up to simmering point, whisking all the time until the sauce has thickened.  Season it with salt, pepper and a good grating of nutmeg.  Then turn it down to its lowest setting and let the sauce simmer for 2 minutes, and remove it from the heat before stirring in the cream.

Meanwhile, cook the spinach by placing it in a large saucepan with the butter and cooking it briefly for 1-2 minutes, tossing it around until it wilts and collapses down, then drain it in a colander and squeeze it hard to get rid of all the excess juice.  Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400F (200C) Now place the spinach in a bowl, chop it roughly with a knife and then add the ricotta, Gogonzola, parmesan and a grating of the nutmeg.  Mix everything together, seasoning with pepper, but no salt, as the cheeses can be quite salty.  Next, add the chopped spring onions and 4 or 5 tablespoons of the sauce.

Then lay a pancake out and place a tablespoon of the filling on to it, then roll it up, tucking in the edges and repeat this with the remaining pancakes.  Lay the filled pancakes side by side in the baking dish and scatter the mozzarella all over them.  Next, pour over the sauce.  Finally, sprinkle the parmesan over the surface.  Then bake the cannelloni on the highest shelf of the oven for 25-30 minutes until the top is brown and sauce is bubbling.