beef and spinach cannelloni!
I haven’t made cannelloni in ages so this week it was time to rectify that. I normally make beef or spinach and ricotta so I decided to combine the 2 and loved it. The princess even had 2 helpings of “calleloni” which I couldn’t believe as the only thing she eats that are the colour green is smarties. Like all cannelloni there is a bit of work involved but it’s definitely worth the effort.
what you need:
500g mince
1 onion
1 garlic clove
250g spinach
150g ricotta cheese
1 egg
3 tbsp tomato puree
80g parmesan cheese
tomato sauce or jar of passata
olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
what to do:
heat your oil in a pan and add your onion and garlic, cook over a low heat until soft but not coloured:
while your onions are cooking, prepare your spinach. Wash it thoroughly and place in a dry pan and cook for a few minutes until it has wilted:
squeeze out as much moisture as you can from the spinach and finely chop:
add your mince to your cooked onions and cook until brown, season and add your tomato puree:
add your spinach and a little more seasoning:
cook for a couple of mins:
in a bowl add your ricotta and parmesan:
add your meat mix, egg and mix together, check seasoning:
bring a pot of salted water to the boil, cook your pasta sheets and drain in a bowl of cold water:
lay your pasta sheets out on a tea towel, spoon some of the mixture on top and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and roll up:
pour over your besciamella and tomato sauce, top with parmesan cheese and cook for 35-40 mins until golden brown:
how do you keep a 2 year old entertained while you do all of this, let her make her own calleloni:
she kept getting really mad with the besciamella because it wouldn’t stay on top of the pasta and kept screaming- ”no, no, no bescella, stop falling off”!!!!!:)
buon appetito!
p.s. it’s blog awards time again so if you feel the need to nominate your favourite food blog(hmmm hmmm), you can do so here. No pressure:)
Loving the pics Lorraine, and the recipe! Mouth watering!
I made a noise out loud when i saw this, gorgoeus!!!
My mouth is watering looking at these pictures,yum!: )
How long would you advise to cook the pasta sheets for? Can’t wait to try this, thank you!
cheers Donal:)
Rach – I was wondering what that noise was:)
IFL – welcome:) Cook them until aldente, with a little bite to them as you will be cooking them again in the oven so don’t worry if you even undercook them a little. Let me know how you get on:)
I’ve yet to try preparing “calleloni”, but (again) an excellent show of Italian cuisine. Already (again) looking forward to the next post.
Ooooh, I LIKE that… lovely and hearty. I never make this kind of thing, because it involves too many stages, and I just want it right NOW!
Happy New Year!
Wow that’s a really good way to make cannelloni! What I do is actually add a dash of brown sugar to the sauce, then layer the bottom of the dish with parchment paper and spray a small layer of Pam so nothing sticks. That way you can have full pieces and nothing has to be cut in half (for aesthetics of course!)
Hi Lorraine, I’m new to your blog, but am enjoying it immensely. I make what I call “Inside Out Ravioli”. I make a thick meat sauce, throw in a handful of Parmesan & pop it in the fridge to chill. Then I put a teaspoon of the sauce on top of small, square wonton wrapers & seal them up. I cook them, then sprinkle a little more cheese on top.
Lor, I’m drooling over this, all of a sudden I just got hunger pains!! Oh, can I borrow your camera?? Forever!
Lars – thanks for your nice comments as always:)
afos – welcome back, you’ve been missed. It takes a while alright!
dominos – welcome, what’s Pam? mine always stick.
Liz – welcome, glad you’re enjoying the blog:) That sounds really nice, I must try open pasta sometime.
Marie – did santa not bring one?:)
Your recipe looks great. I was taught to make this by an Italian chef who was a friend of our family. She taught me to add the beschemel sauce to the filling which tastes incredible whenever I make them. I’ve never put the beschemel on top but will certainly try it. Also, when cooking the meat and the beschemel one thing you could try is adding nutmeg to both. It makes a world of difference. Your pics are great by the way. Ciao!
Great pix, great instructions. Love the blog. Making cannelloni this weekend.
thanks a mil, let me know how you get on:)