Basil chicken cannelloni on wilted spinach

Full of fresh ingredients, Italian food has always been good for you. Now we've made it even better with this low-fat and diabetes-friendly version.  Serves 4

Ingredients

·         1 ½ tsp olive oil

·         1 ¾ cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves

·         1 small white onion, cut into quarters

·         2 garlic cloves, crushed

·         2 ¼ tbs plain flour

·         365ml light White milk

·         Salt & freshly ground black pepper

·         450g lean chicken breast mince

·         1 X 120g pkt instant dried cannelloni tubes

·         30g (1/4 cup) shredded light mozzarella

·         1 bunch English spinach, stems trimmed and washed

Method

Position an oven shelf in top rack of oven. Preheat oven to 230°C. Brush a 17 x 23cm shallow (base measurement) baking dish with 1/2 tsp of oil.

Place 1 ½ cups of basil leaves, onion, garlic, flour, 85ml milk, remaining oil, ½ tsp salt in bowl of a food processor. Process until basil is chopped.

Combine mince, ¼ tsp of salt, ½ tsp of pepper and 1 tbs of basil mixture in bowl. Fill each cannelloni tube. Place in a single layer in the baking dish.

Place remaining milk and basil mixture in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until mixture thickens. Pour sauce over the cannelloni and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake in preheated oven for 18 minutes or until cannelloni are tender when pierced with a knife.

Meanwhile, place the spinach with water clinging to the leaves in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, covered, shaking pan occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.

Place spinach on plates, top with 3 cannelloni tubes and remaining basil.

Per serve: Energy 1749kj; fat total 14g (sat. fat 5g); protein 35g; sodium 247.39mg; fibre 4g