Vocal Voices

I had stalled with spagbol so thought that a change would be good. The ingredients made enough for four portions - 12 large cannelloni.

400g beef mince
125g grated cheese (I used a cheddar and mozzarella mix)
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 500g carton of passata
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
500ml milk
butter
flour
seasonings
12 cannelloni tubes

Dry fry the mince then set it aside to cool.

In a little oil sauté the onion and smashed garlic till the onion is translucent then add the passata and seasonings, go easy with any salt as it is in some cheeses, and heat through reducing the sauce slightly.

Make a bechamel or white sauce. Gently heat the milk with some spices - nutmeg, mace, peppercorns or whatever you like - till they infuse, or forego the spices and crumble in half a veg or chicken stock cube. If using spices run the infused milk through a sieve. Set aside. Melt about 50g of butter with the same of flour and gently heat through to form a roux. Slowly mix the milk into the roux beating it constantly to form a lump free sauce.

Fill the cannelloni tubes. The mince should now be cool. Add to it the grated cheese and give a good mix. Fill the tubes from both ends so that they are fairly tightly packed and full.

Build the meal. It's simple layers, first is the passata sauce, then the cannelloni in one layer only, then the bechamel. If there was any of the meat and cheese mix left over it can be sprinkled around the cannelloni before the bechamel is put in or on top as a finish. Try to use a dish so that the cannelloni is well packed in.

Cook covered at 180C for 30 mins, or till piping hot all through, then uncovered till the top browns up. Delicious with salad, sliced tomatoes and garlic bread.

I did mine as ready meals in foil containers and froze them before cooking.

Oh yum. I love cannelloni.

I had never thought about making it up and freezing it though. I'm going to give that a try - when I have room in my freezer.

The first meal Bb ever cooked me was cannelloni
It was filled with leek, mushrooms, ricotta I think, something like that. It was the first proper meal he'd ever cooked, and it was yummy
But he had to go to 3 or 4 shops to actually find canneloni

Diflower wrote:...Bb... had to go to 3 or 4 shops to actually find canneloni

Ah-ha, the great cannelloni hunt. I searched a few shops and eventually got Napolina ones at a well known supermarket chain.

Another filling I found is ricotta, spinach or cress, and smoked streaky bacon fried to a crisp, all bound together with a few breadcrumbs and an egg yolk. The sauce was bechamel topped with Parmesan and sliced tomato.

Weirdly cannelloni pasta is much easier to buy out here than the lasagna sheets.

I love spinach and ricotta cannelloni.

Mmmmmm spinach and ricotta

The Co-op does fresh pasta spinach and ricotta tortellini. Served with a sauce made from warmed through crème fresh, butter, Italian or mixed herbs and seasoning topped with grated parmesan a simple dish is turned into one from heaven.

Oooh stobbit!!!!! Am back on my diet