Pork Cheek Cannelloni With Truffle Cream Recipes

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.

THREE MEAT CANNELLONI BAKE

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet. Add onion, celery, and carrot, and cook over moderate heat until softened. Add the garlic, and cook 1 minute. Add veal, pork, and beef. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is no longer pink. Add wine, and reduce for 1 minute. Stir in broth. Add herbs, bay leaf, and salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover, and reduce until almost dry. Discard bay leaf. Set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, melt the butter or margarine in a saucepan set over moderately low heat. Whisk in flour for approximately 2 minutes. Whisk in milk, grated nutmeg, and salt and pepper. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in parsley and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
• Transfer the cooled meat mixture to a large bowl. Mix in egg yolks. Mix in the cheese and parsley sauce. Set aside.
• Combine the tomato sauce and cream, set aside.
• Cut the pasta sheets crosswise into 5 inch lengths. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the noodles a few at a time until al dente. This should take only a minute or two with fresh pasta. Transfer 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, and roll the noodle to enclose the filing. Transfer the cannelloni, seam side down, to a well buttered gratin dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and filling, arranging in single layer. Ladle the tomato sauce over the cannelloni, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
• Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or until bubbling. Run under the broiler about 4 inches from the heat for 2 minutes, or until golden.

CANNELLONI WITH BRAISED PORK CHEEKS AND SWEET CICELY

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• To make the filling, season the pork liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Using 2 sauté pans to avoid crowding, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in each pan over high heat. Sear the pork cheeks for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until nicely caramelized.
• Transfer the meat to a braising dish. Divide the carrots, garlic, and onion between the pans and sauté just until they get a hint of color, 2 to 3 minutes. Deglaze the pans with the wine, scraping up any crusty bits. Put the vegetables and wine into the braising dish with the pork cheeks, then pour in the broth and add the bay leaves. Cover the dish with foil or a heavy, tight-fitting lid and braise for 3 hours, or until the meat shreds easily with a fork.
• Remove the meat from the braising dish and shred with two forks. Add the sweet cicely and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add a couple of spoonfuls of braising liquid and drizzle with olive oil to moisten. Stir to combine and set aside. Strain the braising liquid into a clean pan and reduce by half; the timing will vary depending on your stove and pan, but will be about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• To make the cannelloni, roll out the pasta dough to #2 thickness. Using a pastry wheel and a ruler, trim the rolled-out sheets to measure 5 inches across. Then cut the sheets horizontally to create 5-inch squares. You should end up with 8 pasta squares in all.
• Using a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, spoon enough reduced braising liquid to cover the bottom. Place about 3 tablespoons of the pork filling along one edge of a pasta square. Roll up to encase the filling and form a cylinder, then place seam-side down in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining pasta squares and filling. Sprinkle the diced butter over the top of the dish and then sprinkle with the cheese.
• Cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Increase the heat to 400°F and remove the foil. Bake for 10 minutes longer, or until the cheese browns and bubbles. Remove the dish from the oven and drizzle with the olive oil. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

TWICE AS GOOD BEEF & PORK CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Filling: Brown garlic in olive oil. Add beef, pork, and 1/2 cup of pasta sauce (from the Tomato Sauce ingredients) and stir to combine. Brown until cooked and allow to cool to a manageable temperature.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Whisk eggs. Add the eggs, bread crumbs, ricotta, and parmesan cheese to the meat mixture.
• Use a piping bag to fill the cannelloni noodles.
• Red Sauce: Combine all ingredients and use half to cover the bottom of a baking dish (13 x 9 Corning or glass ware).
• Lay filled cannelloni noodles onto the sauce, then cover with remaining sauce.
• Cover with foil and bake for 1/2 - 3/4 hour or until bubbly.
• Cream Sauce: Make a roux with the butter and flour. Add remaining ingredients and whisk over medium heat until thickened.
• Spoon over individual servings of cannelloni and serve.