Italian Cannelloni Recipes

CANNELLONI

Steps:

• MEAT FILLING: Heat oil in a medium saucepan, add the onion and garlic, cook until tender.
• Add meat and cook until browned.
• Add oregano, basil, 2 tsp tomato paste, and cook uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring.
• Add chopped spinach and combine.
• Combine egg and cream, stir into meat mixture and season. Set aside.
• TOMATO SAUCE: Heat oil in the pan, add the onion and garlic, cook until tender.
• Add the puréed tomatoes, tomato paste, seasonings and simmer for 10 minutes, covered. Remove from heat and set aside.
• BÉCHAMEL SAUCE: Place sliced onion and peppercorns in the milk, bring slowly to the boil, remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
• Melt butter in a saucepan, add the flour first made into a thin paste (roux) to the saucepan.
• Strain the milk, discarding the onions and peppercorn, and slowly add to the saucepan whisking until it thickens, then add the cream and season to taste with salt and pepper -- set aside.
• ASSEMBLY (Once cooled): Cook the pasta according to package directions, then plunge into cold water to stop the cooking. Drain. Stuff the cooled meat mixture into the tubes - using either a small spoon or clean hands. I find it easy using disposable gloves. to fill them.
• Spread 3 tablespoons of the tomato sauce over the base of a large shallow dish, then arrange the filled cannelloni side-by-side over the sauce.
• Spoon the Béchamel Sauce over the cannelloni and then cover with the tomato sauce.
• Sprinkle the grated cheeses evenly on top and bake uncovered at 350ºF/175ºC for 30-35 minutes.
• Serve with Salads, Crusty bread and a nice glass of red wine.

ITALIAN CANNELLONI

Steps:

• In oil in a large frypan, cook and stir onion, garlic until the onion is tender.
• Add beef and pork and continue cooking until beef is brown. Remove from heat and drain excess oil.
• Mix in half the parmesan cheese, cream, eggs and seasonings.
• When cool enough to handle, stuff uncooked cannelloni noodles with mixture. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a 3.5 litre pan. Arrange stuffed cannelloni in a single layer and pour remaining sauce over, being certain to cover all the pasta.
• Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan and dot with butter.
• Cover with foil and bake at 375 F for 55 -60 minutes or until tender when pierced with a fork. (during last 10 minutes shredded mozzeralla can be sprinkled on top and the foil removed if desired.).

ITALIAN BAKED CANNELLONI

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, warm oil and saute ground beef with the onion, sage and rosemary; cook until meat is evenly browned and crumbly. Drain fat. Add salt and 1/2 cup white wine; cook until wine is evaporated. Set mixture aside.
• To make the Bechamel sauce: Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir until well incorporated. Stir in milk and bring to a slow boil until mixture thickens. Remove sauce from the heat. In a steady stream, pour the bechamel in to the beaten egg yolks, whisking constantly. Stir the sauce into the meat mixture. Stir in the cubed mozzarella.
• In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter and saute onion until soft and translucent. Add 1/2 cup white wine and let it cook down to evaporate; add stewed tomatoes and salt. Mix well; simmer for 15 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, a few at a time, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; using a slotted spoon, remove immediately to a pot filled with cold water. Lift pasta out with slotted spoon and arrange on a flat surface.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Spoon a line of filling into each shell, starting from one end and using your finger to push the filling inside of each shell. Place cannelloni in prepared baking dish and cover with tomato sauce mixture.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until heated through; when finished baking, allow to stand for 5 minutes and serve.

CANNELLONI

Steps:

• First make the stuffing. In a deep skillet cook the onion, celery and carrot in the olive oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and cook the mixture, stirring, 1 minute. Add the veal, pork and beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink. Add the wine, reduce for 1 minute and stir in the broth. Add the herbs, bay leaf and salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Uncover and reduce until almost dry. Discard bay leaf. Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool. Mix in egg yolks until well combined. Meanwhile, in a saucepan set over moderately low heat melt the butter, add the flour and whisk the mixture for 2 minutes. Add the milk, nutmeg and salt and pepper and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan and the parsley. In a bowl combine the meat mixture with the cheese and parsley sauce. Make the tomato sauce and stir in the heavy cream.
• Now, make the pasta. Cut the dough crosswise into 5-inch lengths. In a pot of boiling salted water cook the noodles, a few at a time, for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, or until they are al dente, transferring them as they are cooked to a bowl of cold water. Spread the noodles in one layer on paper towels to drain. Spoon 1/4 cup of the filling down the center of one noodle, roll the noodle to enclose the filing, and transfer the cannelloni, seam side down, to a well-buttered gratin dish.Continue to make cannelloni with the remaining noodles and filling in the same manner, arranging them in one layer. Ladle the sauce over the cannelloni and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes or until bubbling. Run under the broiler about 4 inches from the heat, for 2 minutes, or until golden.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE, SPINACH, AND RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and saute the onion until fragrant and translucent. Add the Italian sausage meat, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon and brown it until no longer pink, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain the excess fat from the sausage meat, and set aside to cool. In a large mixing bowl stir together the drained and squeeze-dried spinach, ricotta, 1 1/2 cups Parmesan, eggs, cooled Italian sausage and onion mixture, salt, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Place the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the fresh pasta rectangles for 1 minute and remove with a slotted spatula. Set aside. In a 9 by 13-inch baking dish, spread 2 cups tomato sauce. Working with 1 pasta rectangle at a time, spread 6 tablespoons filling along one edge and roll the pasta sheet up tightly, leaving the ends open. Repeat until you have 8 cannelloni. Arrange the prepared cannelloni, seam-side down, in a single layer in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining 2 cups tomato sauce evenly over the cannelloni. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup grated Parmesan over top. Bake the cannelloni for 20 minutes and let it stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve the cannelloni with extra tomato sauce from the baking dish and garnish with fresh basil.
• To make fresh pasta dough: Mound the flour on a clean work surface. Hollow out the center making a well in the middle of the flour with steep sides. Break the eggs into the well. Add the salt, and olive oil to the hollow center and gently mix together with a fork. Gradually start incorporating the flour by pulling in the flour from the sides of the well. As you incorporate more of the flour, the dough will start to take shape. With your hands or a bench scraper continue working the dough until it comes together. If the dough is too dry, add a little water; if too wet or sticky, add a little flour. Begin kneading the dough and keep kneading until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. At this point, set the dough aside, cover it with plastic, and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. You can store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, but allow it to return to room temperature before rolling it out. Divide the pasta dough into 4 even sections. Keep each section covered with plastic wrap or a clean towel while you work with each one. Flour the dough, the rollers of a pasta roller (or your rolling pin), your hands, and the work surface. If using a pasta machine: Flatten 1 of the of the dough pieces between your hands or with a floured rolling pin until it forms a thick oval disk. Dust the disk, the roller, and your hands with additional flour. Flour a baking sheet to hold the rolled out finished pasta. With the roller on the widest setting, pass the pasta through the machine's rollers a few times until it is smooth. Fold the dough over into 1/3, and continue to pass through a few more times until the pasta is smooth again. Begin adjusting the pasta machine settings to become thinner, passing the dough through a few times at each setting. If rolling the pasta by hand: Flatten a dough piece into a thick oval disk with your hands. Flour a baking sheet for the rolled out finished pasta. Place the oval dough disk on a floured work surface, and sprinkle with additional flour. Begin rolling out the dough with a floured rolling pin working from the center of the dough outwards, constantly moving the dough and lifting it to make sure it's not sticking.
• To make Simple Tomato Sauce: In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, and garlic and cook until soft and golden brown. Add the basil and cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juices and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. With a potato masher, break up the tomatoes to achieve a sauce-like consistency. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve. Cook's Note: Tomato sauce will last 1 week in the refrigerator and up to 6 months in the freezer.

CANNELLONI FLORENTINE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain, separate shells, and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). In a 9 x 13 baking dish, combine veal, carrots, celery, chopped half onion and spinach. Stir well. Stir in 1 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 2 tablespoons olive oil and white wine. Place in oven and roast until veal is brown and vegetables are soft, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir frequently. If meat begins to smoke, reduce heat to 400 degrees (200 degrees C).
• Let meat mixture cool 15 minutes, then process in food processor until finely chopped. Return to pan and stir in cream, Roma tomatoes, Parmesan, Italian seasoning and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil. Bake 20 minutes more. Remove from oven and let cool.
• While meat mixture is cooling enough to handle, make tomato sauce. Puree canned tomatoes with their juice in food processor until smooth. In large skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil. Saute garlic and chopped onion until soft. Stir in pureed tomato, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, or until no longer watery. Add four chopped basil leaves and cook 1 minute more.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stuff pasta shells with cooled meat mixture, 2 to 3 tablespoons per shell. Place shells in clean 9 x 13 baking dish. Pour tomato sauce over shells and bake 20 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly.

CANNELLONI

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute onion in olive oil until tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir in spinach. Cook about 5 minutes or until all the water has evaporated and the spinach starts to stick to the pan, stirring constantly,. Transfer to a large bowl. , In the same skillet, brown meat; drain and add to spinach mixture. Stir in the cheese, cream, eggs, oregano, salt and pepper; mix well. Set aside., Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions; drain. Cut each noodle in half widthwise; spread out noodles side by side on a large piece of foil. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of filling at one end of noodle; roll up. Repeat with remaining noodles and filling., Pour about 1 cup of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 13x9-in. baking dish. Place two rolls, seam side down, vertically on both sides of the baking dish. Place remaining rolls in four rows of three rolls each; set aside. , For cream sauce, melt butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat; stir in flour until smooth; gradually add milk and cream. Bring to a boil, cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Remove from heat; season with salt and pepper. Spread cream sauce over lasagna rolls. Cover with remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle with cheese. , Bake at 375°, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.