Cannelloni
from Italian Traditional Food

Cannelloni are just delightful

Cannelloni, if well made, can be a very tasty dish. They can be served as a snack, first course or main meal. Cannelloni is a classic Italian dish made with ricotta cheese and spinach.

I like to make my own because the cannelloni that you buy simply do not have any flavour.

This recipe calls for one pint of thin pasta sauce. You can use some of the sauce made from the pasta sauce recipe given elsewhere on this site and add a little water.

I use the ready made packets of cannelloni tubes bought from most supermarkets or Italian delicatessens.

Try this recipe for yourself and enjoy!

Serves: 4

Cooking Time: 30 - 40 minutes

Oven Setting: Preheat to 195C or Gas Mark 5

Ingredients:

1 packet cannelloni shells (about 1/2 lb, allow 3-4 shells per person)
water
1 tablespoon salt
1 pint thin pasta sauce (use some of the sauce made from the pasta sauce recipe given elsewhere on this site and add a little water). You could also use a shop bought tomato sauce but the flavour would not be right.
2 oz Parmesan cheese (grated)

Ingredients for white sauce:

1 oz butter
2 tablespoons flour
1/4 pint milk
salt and pepper (to Taste)

Ingredients for filling:

1 lb (500g) ricotta cheese
1 can of spinach (squeeze out as much liquid as possible)
2 cloves garlic (finely crushed)
4 fresh basil leaves (roughly chopped)
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
salt and pepper (to taste)

Method:

1. First prepare the cannelloni shells.

2. Simmer the cannelloni in plenty of boiling salted water for about 7 minutes.

3. Lift out carefully, dip into cold water, drain on cloth or absorbent kitchen paper.

5. Melt the butter in a small saucepan.

6. Remove from heat and stir in the flour.

7. Blend in half the milk, then stir in the rest.

8. Stir this over a moderate heat until boiling, then boil gently for 1-2 minutes.

9. Leave to get quite cold before using.

10. Next prepare the filling.

11. Put the ricotta cheese, spinach, basil, garlic and nutmeg in a bowl.

12. Mix well and season.

13. Fill the cannelloni tubes with the mixture. The best way of doing this is to use a forcing bag with large, plain pipe, then pipe into the cannelloni.

14. Assemble the dish.

15. Well butter an ovenproof dish.

16. Spoon some of the thin pasta sauce into the dish.

17. Arrange the cannelloni in a single layer on top of the pasta sauce.

18. Pour remaining pasta sauce over cannelloni, enough to just cover them.

19. Spoon cold white sauce on top of cannelloni.

20. Sprinkle surface with plenty of grated Parmesan cheese.

21. Cook until brown in a preset oven at 190C or Gas Mark 5, for about 30-40 minutes.

22. Serve the cannelloni hot.

Locate another Italian Traditional Food recipe here

To discover more about Italian food visit the Italian Traditional Food webpage

• dish
• meal
• vegetables
• fish
• pasta
• food
• recipes
• dessert
• cooking
• traditional food
• bread
• flour
• italian traditional food
• herbs
• meat
• recipe
• sauce
• cheese
• traditional
• italian