Buckwheat pancake ‘cannelloni’ with nettle spinach and ricotta filling

Baked buckwheat pancake cannelloni with nettle and ricotta filling dressed with a mushroom, garlic and tomato sauce.

Thankfully our gluten free, plastic free lifestyle means we have buckwheat flour, plenty of milk from the local farm stored in the freezer, home made kefir yoghurt and nettles in the garden.

Buckwheat pancake ingredients

• 130g buckwheat flour
• 300 ml milk
• 2 tbs live thick yoghurt or strained kefir
• 2 medium to large eggs
• Salt to taste
• Melted butter or some heat stable oil to grease the pan

Whisk together the flour, milk and yoghurt in a bowl then leave to stand at room temp covered by tea towel or muslin cloth for 6-12 hrs. During this time some fermentation will take place and the surface will become pitted with gas bubbles.

Meanwhile prepare the ‘spinach’ for the filling by washing nettle tops and soft young leaves in hot water – wearing gloves of course – then steam until thoroughly wilted. Cool and then combine with ricotta cheese using a hand blender. Quantities are flexible. Make enough to give you 3 heaped tbsp per pancake.

Make a tomato and mushroom sauce with a can of plum tomatoes, lots of fresh mushrooms, 3 cloves of garlic minced and a quarter cup of red wine. Simmer, stirring well until the mushrooms are tender and the sauce is thickened. Set aside until needed.

When ready to make the dish, pre heat the oven to 180 deg C and lightly oil a shallow oven-proof dish. Lightly grease a heavy bottomed pan with butter or oil and heat on a medium setting. Add the remaining pancake ingredients to the buckwheat ferment and whisk to a creamy consistency. Swirl half a ladle of batter into the medium hot pan. Cook until a spatula cleanly lifts the pancake and the bottom is golden brown. Flip and cook on the other side for 30s. Place the pancake on a board and prepare the next pancake. While that is cooking gently dollop the ricotta and nettle mix at one end of the pancake and roll it from that end, gently pressing the filling as you do so. Place the ‘cannelloni’ in the dish and repeat until all of the pancake and filling is used.

Dress the dish with spoonfuls of the tomato and mushroom sauce in tramlines and if you like add grated parmesan or mature hard cheese as further topping.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden and hot. Serve with some salad leaves.