A delicious lunch box filler (and tummy filler too!), these spinach and ricotta rolls are scrumptious for young and old. They freeze really well too!
Do you ever get hit with a wave of fatigue and lack of enthusiasm when it comes to making lunches? Me too. I love being a parent. I love 99% of it all, but I really, really don’t care for making lunches.
Sorry, you probably came here to be inspired. Apologies for the lack of Ted Talk. But stay for this delicious recipe. These spinach and ricotta scrolls are a bit of a lunchbox lifesaver.
They can be frozen. Yay. They’re bloody delicious. Yay. And you don’t have to be a kid to enjoy them.
We pop them in our little Thermos of a morning I pour boiling water into the container and empty out, and then heat up the rolls on a plate (not in the container) and then once piping hot, I pop them into the container. They stay warm until lunchtime.
While these make the perfect lunchbox snack, other great lunchbox fillers to consider are choc chip muffins, sausage rolls and carrot and cream cheese pinwheels.
Tips for making spinach and ricotta rolls:
Make ahead and freeze. This is perfect recipe to make in bulk (double it, or even triple it!) and freeze. You can freeze before baking (my preference) or after. Just store them in an airtight container in the freezer. I separate the uncooked rolls in the freezer with baking paper so they don’t stick together.
If you want to use fresh spinach or silverbeet, go ahead. While frozen spinach is generally cheaper, if you find yourself with an excess of spinach (from your garden perhaps) that you want to use up, go ahead and use chopped fresh. A good rule of thumb is fresh spinach cooked down equals about a cup and a half.
Serve with a dipping sauce. The kids like tomato sauce, of course. I love a fancy tomato relish.
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Spinach and ricotta rolls
Ingredients
250g chopped frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 spring onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, diced finely
400g ricotta cheese
1 cup grated tasty cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan
salt and pepper
3 sheets of puff pastry
1 egg, extra to brush
Sesame seeds to sprinkle
Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 200ºC, and line two trays with baking paper.
2. Place your pastry sheets on a clean bench to thaw.
3. Combine all ingredients, except the pastry, extra egg and sesame seeds, in a medium-sized bowl and stir to combine well.
4. Cut your pastry into halves, and place a sixth of the ricotta mixture along one side. Roll up and cut into five equal sized rolls. Place onto tray, brush with the extra egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
5. Cook for 25 minutes, until golden and pastry is cooked.
Note: You can freeze these easily – either cooked or uncooked.
