Cannelloni Sopranos Style Recipes

SPINACH RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 - 3 minutes until translucent. Add tomato, water, salt and pepper.
• Stir, reduce heat to medium, simmer for 5 minutes. Optional: add 1/2 cup water and blend sauce until smooth (I do this for guests!).
• Stir through basil or dried herbs. Set aside.
• Place spinach in a colander and press out most of the liquid (don't need to thoroughly squeeze dry).
• Place Spinach in bowl with remaining Filling ingredients. Mix, taste, adjust salt and pepper to taste (different cheeses have different saltiness).
• Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
• Choose a baking pan which will comfortably fit about 20 cannelloni - mine is 21 x 26 cm / 8.5 x 10.5".
• Spread a bit of Sauce on the base.
• Transfer Filling to a piping bag with a large nozzle (that fits in the tubes), or use a strong ziplock bag. Or do this step using a knife (it's a bit tedious though!).
• Pipe the filling into the tubes. Place in baking dish.
• Pour over remaining Sauce, covering all the tubes. Cover with foil, then bake for 25 minutes.
• Remove foil, scatter over cheese. Return to oven for 10 minutes until cheese is melted.
• Serve, garnished with extra basil if desired.

SPINACH & RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Put the spinach and a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over a low heat. Add the nutmeg, season with sea salt and black pepper, cover and leave to sweat. Help the kids to stir it occasionally until the spinach has cooked down. Place in a bowl and set to one side to cool a little.
• Dice the onion and squash the garlic. In the same pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil and gently sweat the onion until soft.
• Scrunch in the tomatoes through your clean hands and add the garlic and bay leaf. Pick in a few basil leaves and grate in the zest of the lemon half, then let it gently simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
• Have the kids squeeze the moisture out of the spinach into the bowl. Place the spinach on a board so you can chop it up. Return the spinach to the liquid in the bowl.
• Beat the egg and grate 2 teaspoons of Parmesan cheese. Get the kids to stir the ricotta, egg and Parmesan into the spinach. Season to taste.
• Sit a piping bag in a jug, fold its edges over the rim, then spoon in the spinach mixture. Have the kids help pipe the mixture into the cannelloni tubes and lay them in a 20cm x 25cm oven dish.
• Spread the tomato sauce over the cannelloni. Pick the remaining basil leaves and scatter most of them over the tomato sauce. Slice the mozzarella and lay the slices on top, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and season.
• Place in the oven and cook for 35 to 40 minutes or till the top is golden and the pasta tender (if the top browns too fast, cover the dish with foil). Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes before serving with the remaining basil leaves.

CANNELLONI WITH SPINACH & RICOTTA

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 200°C.\n 2. Mix spinach, ricotta cheese, egg yolks, garlic, grated cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper together thoroughly in a medium sized bowl.\n 3. Fill cannelloni tubes with the prepared mixture\n 4. To make the sauce, heat olive oil in frying pan, add tomato puree, basil, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Remove from heat.\n 5. Grease an oven proof baking dish and pour layer of sauce over the base leaving enough to cover cannelloni.\n 6. Place a single layer of filled cannelloni side by side in the baking dish. Pour over the remaining sauce and if desired the thickened cream. Sprinkle with grated cheese.\n 7. Bake in oven at 200°C for 25-35 minutes (test by pricking with a skewer).\n 8. Serve and enjoy with family and friends!

CANNELLONI (SOPRANO'S STYLE)

Steps:

• Filliing:.
• Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the meats and garlic and cook, stirring frequently until no longer pink.
• Tip the pan to spoon off the excess fat.
• Stir in the spinach and 1 cup of the bechamel sauce; add salt and pepper to taste.
• Remove from heat and let cool slightly, then stir in 1 cup of parmigiano reggiano.
• Cook pasta until slightly underdone; placing in cold water until cool enough to handle, then lay flat on lint-free towel.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees; butter 2 11 x 8 x 2 inch baking dishes.
• Cannelloni:.
• Spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of the baking dishes.
• Spread some of the filling over each pasta square, leaving 1/2 border on one side. Starting at the opposite side, loosely roll and place seam-side down in the baking dishes.
• Spoon the remaining sauce over the pasta.
• Sprinkle with cheese.
• Bake 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the top is golden brown. Serve hot.
• (The cannelloni can be assembled up to 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate after completely assembling. You will need to bake longer than 30 minutes).

BAKED RICOTTA AND SPINACH CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and set aside a 9-inch by 13-inch rectangular casserole dish.
• Add the ricotta, egg, spinach, basil, salt and pepper, garlic, the 1 1/2 cup of mozzarella and the Parmesan cheese to a large bowl and stir together with a rubber spatula until well combined.
• Add the ricotta mixture to a piping bag with an open tip (or simply cut the tip off the bag if you don't want to use a tip) and pipe the ricotta filling into each of the ready-to-stuff Cannelloni noodles.
• Spoon approximately one-third of the marinara sauce into the bottom of the baking dish and spread it around until the bottom of the dish is well coated with sauce.
• Place the filled Cannelloni noodles into the base of the baking dish and spoon the remaining marinara sauce over the top.
• Add the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses in an even layer on the top and bake uncovered at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for about 25 to 30 minutes.
• Serve immediately.

THE SOPRANO'S CANNELLONI

Steps:

• TO ASSEMBLE.
• 11/2 pounds homemade or store-bought fresh pasta, such as fresh lasagne sheets.
• Cut into 4-inch squares.
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.
• PREPARATION.
• Prepare the bechamel and set aside. To make the filling, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the meats and garlic and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the meat is no longer pink. Tip the pan and spoon off the excess fat. Stir in the spinach and 1 cup of the bechamel sauce. Taste for salt and pepper. If the sausage is highly seasoned, you may not need any. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, then stir in the cheese. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt to taste. Have ready a large bowl of cold water, and spread out some lint-free (not terry cloth) kitchen towels on a flat surface. Add the pasta squares to the pot a few at a time and cook less than 1 minute; they should be slightly underdone. Scoop the pasta out of the pot and place it in the cold water until cool enough to handle, then lay the pasta squares out flat on the towels. Continue cooking and cooling the remaining pasta in the same way. Preheat the oven to 350°F Butter two 11 x 8 x 2-inch baking dishes. To assemble the cannelloni, spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of each baking dish.