Vegetable Stuffed Cannelloni Recipes

VEGETABLE-STUFFED MANICOTTI

Steps:

• Cook manicotti to desired doneness as directed on package. Drain; rinse with cold water to cool. Drain well.
• Meanwhile, heat oven to 400°F. In medium bowl, combine all filling ingredients; mix well. Fill each cooked manicotti with vegetable mixture.
• Place 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce in ungreased 12x8-inch (2-quart) baking dish. Place filled manicotti over sauce. Pour remaining 1 cup spaghetti sauce over manicotti. Cover tightly with foil.
• Bake at 400°F. for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly. Uncover dish; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake an additional 5 to 8 minutes or until cheese is melted.

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.

VEGETABLE STUFFED CANNELLONI

Steps:

• In a large pot of salted water, parboil cannelloni. (Parboiling is partially cooking the noodles in boiling water; they will finish cooking when baked.)
• Meanwhile, cook 2 cloves garlic and 2 shallots in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat for 30 seconds. Pour in sherry, raise heat to high, and reduce liquid by half. Stir in cream, and reduce until there is about 1 1/2 cups liquid. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set cream sauce aside.
• In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Cook onion, 3 shallots, 3 cloves garlic, mushrooms, zucchini, and eggplant in olive oil until all vegetables are tender. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in red peppers, basil, oregano, ricotta, and Parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set filling aside.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch baking dish. Stuff vegetable/cheese filling into cannelloni. Place in prepared baking dish, and cover with cream sauce.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes.

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.

VEGETABLE STUFFED CANNELLONI

Steps:

• In a large pot of salted water, parboil cannelloni. Parboiling is partially cooking the noodles in boiling water. The cannelloni should not be finished cooking, they will finish cooking when baked. Meanwhile, cook 2 cloves garlic and 2 shallots in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Pour in sherry, raise heat to high, and reduce liquid by half. Stir in cream, and reduce until there is about 1 1/2 cups liquid. Remove from heat, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set cream sauce aside. In a large skillet, heat one tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Cook onion, 3 shallots, 3 cloves garlic, mushrooms, zucchini, and eggplant in olive oil until all vegetables are tender. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in red peppers, basil, oregano, ricotta, and Parmesan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set filling aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease one 9x13 inch baking dish. Stuff vegetable/cheese filling into cannelloni. Place in prepared baking dish, and cover with cream sauce. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 minutes.