Creamy Sausage Cannelloni Recipes

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Meanwhile, heat the EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the sausage and crumble to very small pieces. Then add the veal, brown and crumble. Add the sage, garlic, onions and some salt and pepper, and cook until tender. Separate the spinach with your fingertips and add to the skillet. Stir to heat through, then deglaze with the wine and remove from the heat.
• In a saucepot over medium heat, melt the butter, whisk in the flour and bring to a bubble. Whisk in the milk and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Thicken the sauce to coat the back of a spoon. Taste to adjust the seasoning and remove a ladle of sauce to combine with the egg yolks to temper them. Add the egg yolks to the sauce and stir in half of the fontina cheese and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Reduce the heat to low, or cover to keep warm.
• Salt the water, and cook the pasta to a chewy al dente, 6 to 7 minutes. Then drain and cool. Fill the tubes or shells with the meat filling using small spoon. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with one-quarter of the sauce, then arrange the shells and cover with the remaining sauce, then top with the remaining cheese. Refrigerate or freeze for a make-ahead meal.
• Bake from room temperature at 375 degrees F until brown and bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes.

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:

• Turn on a multi-functional pressure cooker (such as Instant Pot®) and select Saute function. Once hot, add butter, followed by sausage and fennel. Stir and break up sausage. Cook, stirring, until sausage is browned, about 5 minutes. Pour in 1 cup chicken broth slowly, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Pour in 2 cans of drained cannellini beans. Cancel Saute mode.
• Close and lock the lid. Select high pressure according to manufacturer's instructions; set timer for 5 minutes. Allow 10 to 15 minutes for pressure to build.
• Meanwhile, combine remaining 2 cups chicken broth and 2 cans of beans in a blender; blend on high until smooth.
• Release pressure using the natural-release method according to manufacturer's instructions for 5 minutes. Release remaining pressure using the quick-release method according to manufacturer's instructions, about 5 minutes. Unlock and remove the lid. Add pureed beans, thyme, and truffle salt to soup; mix to combine.
• Ladle soup into bowls and serve with a drizzle of olive oil.

Steps:

• Béchamel:
• Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking occasionally, until mixture smells slightly nutty, about 3 minutes. Whisk in milk, then increase heat to medium-high, and still whisking constantly, bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook just until thick and no longer floury tasting, 8-10 minutes. Add Parmesan and whisk until melted, then whisk in cayenne and nutmeg; season with salt. Cover béchamel and keep warm until ready to use.
• Do Ahead: Béchamel can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill. Reheat over medium-low, whisking constantly and adding a splash of water if needed to loosen.
• Assembly
• Remove ribs and stems from Swiss chard leaves and thinly slice. Tear leaves into large pieces. Combine oil and sausage with Swiss chard ribs and stems in a large skillet and set over medium-high heat. Cook, breaking up sausage with a heatproof rubber spatula or wooden spoon into small pieces, until sausage is almost cooked through, 5-7 minutes.
• Add Swiss chard leaves to skillet a handful at a time, tossing and letting them wilt slightly between additions, until all the leaves have been added. Cook, reducing heat as needed (liquid should be bubbling slightly at this point), until liquid is almost completely evaporated (it's important to dry out the Swiss chard here so the filling isn't soggy), about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Let cool 5 minutes, then stir in ricotta. Season filling with salt.
• If using pasta sheets, cook in a pot of boiling salted water 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl of cold water. Lay out a row of pasta sheets on a rimmed baking sheet (don't overlap), then top with a sheet of waxed or parchment paper. Repeat with remaining pasta sheets, placing sheets of paper between each layer.
• If using shells, cook in a pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, just until very al dente, about 3 minutes less than package instructions; rinse under cold water to cool quickly.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread half of béchamel into a 13x9" baking dish. If using pasta sheets, lay out a sheet on a clean surface with a short end facing you. Spoon a heaping ¼-cupful of filling so it runs all the way down the center. Roll pasta around filling to create a 1 1/4"-diameter tube (the pasta will overlap quite a bit). Repeat with remaining pasta sheets, arranging in baking dish as you go to create 2 rows. If using shells, spoon a heaping tablespoonful of filling into each shell and nestle next to each other to create rows (you'll have about 5 rows of 6 shells each). Spread remaining béchamel over cannelloni, then marinara sauce. Top with Parmesan.
• Bake cannelloni until edges of pasta are lightly browned and sauce is bubbling around edges of pan, 30-40 minutes.
• Do Ahead: Filling can be made 2 days ahead. Let cool completely, then cover and chill.

Steps:

• Cook manicotti according to package directions; drain. Set aside. (Or don't and increase the sauce measurements. If increasing the sauce measurements you may want to use a roaster or a deeper pan.).
• To prepare tomato sauce: In Dutch oven (or large heavy saucepan) add olive oil and 1 cup onions. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until onions are soft (5-8 minutes). Add tomatoes, reserved juice, and all remaining sauce ingredients (tomato paste, basil, sugar, 1/2 t salt, and 1/4 t pepper). Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until sauce just comes to a boil (2-4 minutes). Cover; reduce heat to low. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, 35 minutes.
• Meanwhile, to prepare filling: in 10-inch skillet add sausage, 1/4 cup onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sausage is browned (10-12 minutes). Drain off fat. Add spinach. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until spinach is soft (2-3 minutes). Place sausage mixture in large bowl. Cool 10 minutes. Stir in 1/3 cup Parmesan, eggs, oregano, and 1/4 t pepper. Set aside.
• To prepare bechamel sauce: in 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth and bubbly (1 minute). Add milk, whipping cream, and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens (5-8 minutes).
• Heat oven to 375. Divide filling between manicotti tubes using a small spoon to fill each tube with about 2 T of filling (I use my clean hands--think stuffing a roll of coins). Place 1/4 cup tomato sauce on bottom of 13x9x2-inch baking pan (more if you don't boil the noodles and in a deeper pan). Place filled tubes on top of tomato sauce. Pour bechamel sauce over tubes. Top with remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.
• **This is a great OAMC recipe. Before cooking/prep day, I would prepare the tomato sauce and sausage/spinach filling mixture and chill (I would prepare the tomato sauce anyway to serve as a pasta sauce--I could literally drink the stuff!). Make the bechamel sauce the day of your big session. Fill the tubes and prep the pans. Cook 45 minutes (Covered!), wrap in foil and freeze. On "eating day," cook at 375 until tubes are al dente (they probably already will be) and bubbly and cheese is melted. I would keep it covered for most of the cooking time. This is a very very rich recipe, so I would serve with a salad of bitter greens tossed in a sharp vinaigrette. It says it serves 8, but, as I said, the sauces are so rich that I can't really eat more than one tube, so I would say it serves 14.

Steps:

• Meat Sauce: In large saucepan saute onion and sausage over medium heat, breaking up sausage into small pieces. When sausage is browned, add remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes. Bechamel Sauce: In large saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Add flour, whisking to make smooth. Gradually add milk and spices; whisking to avoid lumps. Once sauce has thickened, remove from heat and add cheese blend, stirring until melted. Add spinach. Assembly: In 9 X 13 casserole dish, add enough meat sauce to cover bottom of pan. Place cannelloni in single layer on top, cover with bechamel sauce, spoon remaining meat sauce over bechamel. Top with parmesan. Bake in 350F oven covered for 40 minutes, remove cover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes or until bubbling. Let stand for 10 minutes and enjoy.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole over a medium heat and cook the onions for 8-10 mins until softened and starting to caramelise. Meanwhile, squeeze the sausagemeat from the skins.
• Push the onions to one side of the casserole, then add the sausagemeat to the other. Squash it into smaller pieces using a wooden spoon, stirring occasionally for 10-12 mins until cooked and starting to brown in places. Mix the onions back in, then add the garlic, thyme, chilli flakes and tomato purée. Cook for another 1-2 mins. Tip in the plum tomatoes, crushing them with the back of the spoon. Season and bubble for 15-20 mins until the tomatoes have broken down and the sauce has reduced to a thick ragu.
• Put the kettle on to boil. If using cavolo nero, remove and discard the tough stalks and roughly chop the leaves. For softer veg like spinach or chard, you can leave the stalks on. Put in a colander set over the sink and pour over a kettle of just-boiled water, then rinse the leaves under cold running water until cool enough to handle. Squeeze out as much water as you can, transfer to a board and finely chop. Stir the greens into the sausage ragu, cook for 1-2 mins until any excess liquid has evaporated (the mixture should be quite dry), remove from the heat and leave to cool a little.
• Melt the butter in a separate saucepan over a medium heat. When sizzling, stir in the flour to make a sandy paste. Whisk in the milk, a splash at a time, until completely incorporated. When the sauce is smooth and the consistency of custard, season well, grate in a good amount of nutmeg and stir in half the parmesan. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Drop the lasagne sheets into a large pan of boiling salted water one at a time to prevent them sticking together, then cook for 5-6 mins, stirring until soft enough to roll up but not fully cooked through. Drain and plunge into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking process.
• If the béchamel sauce has thickened as it's cooled down, stir in a splash more milk. Spoon a third of the sauce over the base of a baking dish roughly 25 x 35cm. Lift a sheet of lasagne out of the bowl of cold water and lay on a board with one of the short ends facing you. Spoon a generous tbsp of the sausage ragu over one end, then roll it up to enclose the filling, making a short cannelloni - there will be a little overlapping pasta. Place it in the baking dish, then continue with the remaining ragu and lasagne sheets, arranging them in the baking dish in two rows of six cannelloni. Spoon any remaining ragu over the top, then pour over the béchamel sauce to cover all the cannelloni rolls. Sprinkle with the remaining parmesan. Will keep covered and chilled for up to two days or frozen for up to two months. Leave to cool completely first. Defrost thoroughly in the fridge overnight before cooking. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6, then bake the cannelloni for 40 mins until bubbling at the edges and golden brown on top. Grind over some black pepper, if you like, and serve with a crisp green salad.