I can’t remember where my first plant of Brazilian spinach arrived from as I feel like it has always been in the garden, a truly remarkable standby. It is a subtropical replacement for the garden niche New Zealand spinach occupied when I lived much further south. Once upon a time if I needed a spinach-like leaf for spanakopita, spinach pie or risotto and there was no silverbeet or spinach to pick, I would gather the youngest, juiciest leaves of New Zealand spinach syn. Warrigal Greens. It spread wide in a mat, self-sowed, was unfazed by the hottest summer and always seemed to be available. Moving north to the subtropics I discovered it really disliked humidity and even though it self-sows, the niche it occupies is much smaller. It tends to fill the gap in winter when the silverbeet is too small to pick and the frost has browned off the subtropical green leafy vegetables.
Its place as a perennial mainstay has been taken by Brazilian spinach, which has a large number of common names but I have not determined to my satisfaction its botanic name. Its common names include Poor Man’s spinach, (not a moniker I’m fond of), Samba lettuce and Sissoo spinach. The last one, Sissoo spinach, Alternathera sissoo is possibly either a close relative or a subspecies because the growth habit and leaf shape are slightly different to the Brazilian spinach I have always grown.
Brazilian spinach is a low growing perennial leaf vegetable, which forms a neat mound to 30 cm high, rather than spreading in a mat. This growth makes it a handier plant for edging paths, especially in shady areas as it is quite shade-tolerant. The leaves are mid green, round and crinkled. The flowers are insignificant, small and white. It is suitable for subtropical and tropical areas only; it is unlikely to do well further south than Sydney.
It is a good tasting, wet-season, green leafy vegetable, without the slimy or mucilaginous texture that people often dislike with aibika or Ceylon spinach. Use it cooked rather than in salads.
Cannelloni with Brazilian Spinach and Ricotta
Tomato sauce
- Drizzle of olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- ½ cup fresh basil leaves, shredded
- 400g tin of tomatoes or 500g fresh
- 250ml water
- Salt & pepper
Spinach and ricotta filling
- 1 tbsp. butter
- Drizzle of olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- Harvest a large colander of fresh Brazilian spinach; wash it well and finely chop
- 500g ricotta * (see note)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
- ¼ cup grated parmesan * (see note)
- Salt & pepper
- Freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup grated tasty cheese
- 2 packets instant dried cannelloni tubes
Method
- Preheat oven to 190°C.
- Find an ovenproof dish that the cannelloni fits neatly into, in one layer. Lightly brush the dish with olive oil.
- Heat a large saucepan with a tbsp. of butter and a drizzle of olive oil. Add a finely chopped garlic clove. As soon as the garlic begins to cook add the finely chopped Brazilian spinach and keep turning it until it has all wilted and changed colour. Set it aside in a bowl to cool.
- Make the tomato sauce next by placing the saucepan back on the heat, add a little more olive oil, the other finely chopped clove of garlic, the finely chopped onion and cook until soft. Then add chopped tomatoes, either fresh or tinned and water. Simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, add the shredded basil, salt and pepper to taste. The sauce should be quite runny as instant pasta tends to suck up quite a lot of moisture.
Put the cooled down spinach, the ricotta, tasty cheese, nutmeg, parsley and salt and pepper into a food processor and mix well. Pour a third of the tomato sauce into the ovenproof dish, spreading evenly over the base.
Fill each cannelloni tube with the Spinach and Ricotta Filling. I use a teaspoon but it is possible to use a sandwich bag as a piping tool by cutting off a corner. Be careful not to leave gaps. Lay each cannelloni as it is filled over the tomato sauce in the pan.
Finish by spreading the remainder of the tomato sauce on top and sprinkle with parmesan.
Bake uncovered for about 20 to 25 minutes until cooked through. Test a bit of pasta for doneness. If it looks like drying out sprinkle on a few tablespoons of boiling water. Or if you prefer, cover with a lid or foil before baking. I just usually try to avoid using foil.
To make this gluten free, layer the filling between GF lasagne sheets. I haven’t seen GF cannelloni available. This freezes well and is far too fiddly to only make for one meal; I usually make enough for three trays and freeze two.
* Note: avoid cheeses that contain sorbate preservatives 200 – 202 as there are plenty of good brands without this additive.