bFeedme

Cooking, Recipe and Food Blog

Beef and Ricotta Cannelloni

By

According to Wikipedia, cannelloni is an Italian word that means large reeds. These pasta rolls often contain meat, spinach and ricotta cheese and topped with tomato or béchamel sauce. It is traditionally prepared in Catalonia during St. Stephen’s day, the day after Christmas. The feast boasts of cannelloni stuffed with leftovers from the Christmas celebrations.

I love any type of food that has cheese. The more cheese the better. I think this is why I cannot be a vegan, because I cannot live without it. For this recipe, feel free to use any type of cheese. Experiment by using different ones or you can get a grated cheese mix from the supermarket. You can also replace the ricotta with sour cream or cream cheese and it is a good twist too.

 

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium brown onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

600g ground beef

700g jar tomato sauce

1/4 cup shredded fresh basil leaves

6 fresh lasagna pasta sheets, cut in half

250g smooth ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups grated cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Sauté the garlic and onions for 3 minutes until fragrant and the onions are translucent. Add the ground beef and cook it for 8-10 minutes until brown. Stir in 1 cup of tomato sauce. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for another 8-10 minutes. Season it with salt and pepper. Stir occasionally. Turn of the heat and add the basil. Let it cool.

Preheat the oven at 180C and then grease a rectangle ovenproof dish.

Place a sheet of lasagna on a flat surface and then put a 1/4 cup of the beef mince mixture. Roll it up to wrap the beef. Transfer the roll to the baking dish. Repeat the process with the remaining ingredients. Top the rolls with ricotta cheese and then spread it evenly using a spatula or the back of a spoon. Next, pour the remaining sauce over the cheese layer and then sprinkle it with grated cheese and some basil.

Loosely cover the baking dish with foil and then bake the cannelloni for 30 minutes until the cheese bubbles and is brown.

 

Photo Courtesy Of:  fifikins

Crespoline

By

This Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed pasta dish is served with a Tomato and Parmesan Cheese Sauce. Using the Cannelloni from a packet may not need pre-cooking but it’s worthwhile checking the packaging to see if it needs to be cooked first.

Canneloni Tubes

Make sure that the Cheese sauce doesn’t too get too hot will prevent it from separating around the edges, however, it’ll still taste great.

To Serve 4
225g Leaf Spinach
175g Ricotta Cheese
Pinch of Nutmeg, freshly grated
1 Garlic Clove, peeled and crushed
8 Dried Pasta Cannelloni Tubes
300ml Classic Tomato Sauce
40g Butter
25g White Flour
450ml Milk
40g Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt and Pepper

1. To make the Parmesan Sauce, melt the Butter in a medium saucepan over a low heat. Stir in the Flour, and cook for a few seconds stirring all the time. Remove from the heat, and gradually pour in the Milk, whisking until smooth. Bring to the boil, then simmer for four to five minutes, whisking if needed. Stir in the Parmesan Cheese, then season to taste with Salt and Pepper
2. Wash the Spinach, then place in a large pan with just the water that’s left on the leaves. Cook for three to four minutes, or until wilted. Drain very well, then cool and chop up roughly
3. Mix the Spinach with the Ricotta, Nutmeg and Garlic, before seasoning with Salt and Pepper. Fill the Pasta Tubes with the mixture, then place in an ovenproof dish. Pour the Tomato Sauce into the Dish, and make sure that the Tubes are sat on top of them.
4. Pour the Parmesan Sauce over the top, then leave to stand for thirty minutes, before cooking at 190C for thirty to forty minutes, until piping hot and golden brown.

Photo Courtesy of: fifikins