Cannelloni Surprise Recipes

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.

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.

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.

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.

Steps:

• For the filling, dry-fry the beef in a non-stick pan on a medium-high heat, breaking up with a wooden spoon until browned - about 10 mins. Remove and set aside. Add the oil and cook the onion for 5 mins, until soft. Add the garlic for 1 min more, then tip in the beef and 1½ jars of the passata sauce and the sugar. Simmer for 20 mins while you make the white sauce.
• Heat the butter in a small pan. When foaming, stir in the flour for 1 min. Add the milk gradually, stirring all the time to achieve a lump-free sauce, then bubble for 2 mins while stirring. Remove from the heat and stir in the soft cheese with seasoning until dissolved. Set aside, covered with cling film to stop a skin forming.
• To assemble, pour the remaining tomato sauce into the base of 2-3 large baking dishes or 12 individual ovenproof dishes or foil containers. Spoon the beef into the cannelloni tubes using a teaspoon and lay on top of the sauce. Pour on the white sauce, then sprinkle with Parmesan. If freezing, allow to cool, then freeze wrapped well in cling film. To eat straight away, heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and cook for 40-45 mins until the pasta is tender and topping golden. Defrost frozen cannelloni thoroughly, then cook as above for 50 mins-55 mins (or see tip).