Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Pasta

Methods

• To make the pasta, take refined flour in a bowl, make a well in the centre, put egg, 1 tsp olive oil and salt in it. Push small portions of the flour with a fork into the well and mix till the mixture becomes crumbly.
• Add sufficient water and knead into a dough. Stretch the dough with you palms, fold back and keep doing this till the dough is smooth. Cover with a damp cloth, so that it does not dry, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
• To make stuffing, take spinach, cheese/paneer, breadcrumbs and salt in another bowl and mix. Keep it in the refrigerator till it is time to use it.
• To make sauce, heat olive oil in a non-stick pan, add garlic and saute till it turns brown. Add tomatoes, oregano, sage, thyme and rosemary and mix well.
• Add 1 cup water and salt and mix well. Cook till the mixture gets a sauce like consistency.
• Sprinkle flour on the worktop, keep the dough on it and roll out into a thin rectangle.
• Cut the pasta sheet into 3x4 inch rectangles
• Preheat oven to 200º C. Grease a baking dish with some butter.
• Boil sufficient water in a deep non-stick pan, add 1 tbsp olive oil and salt. Slide in the pasta rectangles and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain the pasta rectangles and put them in a large bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process, ensuring that the pasta rectangles do not tear or break.
• Drain the pasta rectangles and place them on the worktop. Place a little spinach cheese/paneer stuffing in the centre of each rectangle and roll into cylinders.
• Spread half the tomato sauce in the greased baking dish, place the pasta rolls over it and top it with the remaining sauce.
• Sprinkle breadcrumbs and grated cheese on top of the rolls. Keep the dish in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot.