Cannelloni "tubes of dough with filling"
6 servings
75 minutes
Cannelloni is a delightful dish of Italian cuisine consisting of pasta tubes filled with rich meat filling and baked under aromatic sauce. The origins of this recipe trace back to Italian villages where pasta was handmade and filled with hearty meat mince and tomato sauce. The taste of cannelloni is a harmony of tender dough, juicy filling, and velvety béchamel sauce topped with cheese crust. This dish is perfect for cozy family dinners or festive gatherings. Cannelloni can be creatively complemented with various types of meat and spices to reveal new flavor dimensions. It is served hot, with a glass of wine or fresh vegetables, creating a unique atmosphere of Italian hospitality.
1
Prepare tomato sauce: blanch the tomatoes, peel them, and chop. Heat oil in a pan and sauté the tomatoes on low heat, mashing with a spatula for 15 minutes. Let the mixture cool, transfer to a blender, and blend. Add sugar, salt, and mix again.
- Tomatoes: 1 kg
- Sunflower oil: 5 tablespoon
- Sugar: 1 teaspoon
- Salt: to taste
2
The fillings for cannelloni can vary, but the base is always meat: finely chopped beef, veal, or even better, pork. The meat can be mixed with other components: fried chicken liver, boiled chicken breast, baked lamb brains, foie gras, Serrano or York ham, sausage meat, and so on. The idea is to mix the meat with some other meat that is more aromatic. To prepare the filling: finely chop all the components. Heat olive oil in a pan, add onion, and cook on low heat, stirring, for 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce and remove the pan from the heat. Mix the resulting onion with the rest of the filling in a large bowl.
- Beef: 150 g
- Chicken breast: 1 piece
- Beef brains: 1 piece
- Foie gras: 25 g
- Onion: 1 piece
- Olive oil: 2 tablespoons
- Tomatoes: 1 kg
3
If you are using ready-made cannelloni, follow the cooking instructions on the package (it's better to choose those that do not require pre-cooking — if you have such ones, drain the water well before filling them). If you are using pasta sheets, simply lay them out on the table and wrap the filling inside. You can fill the cannelloni using a teaspoon from your little finger. Place the filled tubes in a fireproof dish.
- Cannelloni pasta: 12 pieces
4
Make a thick béchamel sauce: melt butter with vegetable oil in a saucepan. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the flour. Return the saucepan to the stove and gradually pour in the milk, stirring the mixture thoroughly, and bring to a boil while constantly stirring. Add salt to taste and simmer on low heat, stirring, for 8-10 minutes.
- Butter: 50 g
- Wheat flour: 2 tablespoons
- Milk: 750 ml
- Salt: to taste
5
Mix the prepared béchamel with tomato sauce and pour it over the cannelloni through a sieve. Sprinkle with grated cheese and place pieces of butter on top. Send it to a preheated oven at 200 degrees and bake for 20 minutes until the crust turns golden. Remove the dish from the oven. Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving.
- Milk: 750 ml
- Tomatoes: 1 kg
- Gruyere cheese: 80 g
- Butter: 50 g