I got a thing for Cannelloni these days and offer up 5 ways to stuff and prepare this sometimes overlooked Italian Specialty.
So just when I though for the first time in my life that I had enough food and needed to do some serious detox, along comes this desire to dive into a healthy dose of cannelloni. Throughout the years I have come up with some shortcuts that will help cut time and aggravation when preparing this dish. I also have a few killer stuffing. Below are my 5 favorites, but first some history and housekeeping.
Cannelloni are a lot like Manicotti except a smaller, thinner and more suitable to a variety of fillings. They are usually baked and some people actually think of them as tiny, rolled lasagna. Beside Italy cannelloni is very popular in Uruguay and Argentina, due to a large Italian immigration to those countries. They are often served with the Sunday meal.
Here’s Gracie’s basic ingredients/instructions for the dough:
- 3 to 3 1/2 cups of unbleached flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 4 eggs or if you like a little color, 3 eggs and 3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
- Tbsp. water or more if needed
Now you can make the dough the old fashion way by forming a well with the flour and adding the eggs with a fork, gradually adding water as needed. You can also take a short cut and buy ready made.
I never liked the well version and always find the store brought pasta sheets to thick for cannelloni. What I do is pulse quickly the flour and salt in a food processor. I then add the eggs and water as needed until everything comes together into a workable ball. Take the ball and kneed on a lightly floured surface for about 10 minutes. You will know when it’s ready. Form two smaller balls and set aside until show time.
When ready to begin, break the two balls in half and pass the halves through the narrowest setting on a pasta making machine. Fold in half and run through the machine again. If needed you can repeat until you get the thickness desired. When sheets are desired thickness cut into 4×4 pieces, cook in boiling water for about 3 minutes, dust some flour to keep from sticking and set aside until ready to make the cannelloni.
Extra hands help!
5 Fillings:
Spinach and Ricotta: Melt some butter in a saucepan and add 2 (10 ounce) packages of thawed frozen spinach for a few minutes. Transfer to a large bowl, let cool and mix in two eggs a 1 1/2 cups of fresh Ricotta cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste. Gracie always added a little nutmeg to this mix as well.
Sausage and Mushroom – In a medium sized saucepan heat some olive oil and add two or three Italian Sausage with the castings removed. cook until golden brown and with a slotted spoon remove from the pan. Add chopped button mushrooms to the oil and cook until soft. Combine the sausage and mushrooms to a mixing with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well.
Sausage and Peppers – Cook the sausage as directed above. Once done add chopped red and green peppers to the saucepan, along with a small yellow chopped onion. Combine all the filling ingredients in a mixing bowl adding salt and pepper to taste.
Meatball – This is an easy one. Gracie would always have some meatballs in the house and she would heat then in some sauce, remove and chop them up to make a filling. Be sure to add some sauce to the filling and at times she would add shredded Mozzarella cheese.
Crab Meat – Combine 3 cups of crab meat with a 1 cup of a Parmesan cream sauce, 2 Tbsp. of fresh chopped parsley, 2 Tbsp. of chopped fresh chives and 1 Tbsp. of lemon zest. Add salt and pepper to taste.
To Make the Cannelloni:
Divide the filling evenly over your 4×4 pasta squares. Roll up and place seam side down on a lightly buttered baking dish. You can even cover the bottom of the baking dish with sauce. Add you sauce of choice over the top and bake at 450° for 15 minutes.
I have seen cannelloni baked in meat sauce, cream sauce, butter sauce, topped with pesto or just good old Sunday sauce. I have even at times thrown shredded Mozzarella over the top before baking. The possibilities are endless.
Super Tip: Cannelloni can be time consuming, but are well worth the effort in feeding a crowd. If you’re having the gang over for the Big Game a tray of assorted Cannelloni can be a game winner!
Want more of Gracie’s Secret recipes? CLICK HERE For “7 Days of Italian Cooking – Gracie’s Guide to Everyday Meals.”
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