Most cannelloni recipes I see on the internet are made with ricotta and cheese. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it’s a fantastic flavour combination. However, I decided to make a change, so I have gone for a tomato based cannelloni with a creamy minced beef filling. I remember doing this at my culinary school and really loving it. So cooking this recipe actually brought back some memories.
Cannelloni and lasagna are quite similar in some ways. Personally, I prefer cannelloni, I’m not sure whether it has something to do with the attractive construction or maybe it’s just a newer experience for me to make it. I should point out that the preparation process can be tedious. This dish takes a bit longer to prepare than most of the recipes I have on this blog. I think it’s just the step of filling each cannelloni tube individually. However, it’s straightforward to prepare and it’s definitely worth the end result. And I’m not just saying that!
I was so happy with this recipe and I hope you are satisfied as well. I wish all of you a lovely week and if you like this recipe and don’t want to miss out on any more posts feel free to subscribe and/or follow my social media to stay updated.
Cannelloni
The comfort food dish that may be able to top lasagna. Definitely, a dish that isn't cooked often enough.
Ingredients
Bechamel sauce
- 550 ml of milk
- 35 g of flour
- 35 g of butter
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
Tomato sauce
- Olive oil
- Half an onion chopped finely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic chopped finely chopped
- A couple of thyme sprigs
- 750 g of tinned tomatoes
- Salt pepper and sugar for seasoning
Cannelloni and the filling
- 200 g of cannelloni tubes
- 500 g of minced beef
- 3 tablespoons of tomato paste
- Half an onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
- A handful of fresh basil shredded
- 100 g of fresh spinach
- 250 ml of cream
- 3 egg yolks
- Parmesan cheese grated for topping
- Shredded mozzarella cheese for topping
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
Instructions
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First, Get a pot nice and hot (rhymes) on the stove, then turn the heat off. Add your spinach and stir till all of the spinach has wilted. Transfer to a bowl, wait for the spinach to cool down for a few minutes, then squeeze the liquid out of the wilted leaves. Set aside, clean the pot and get it ready for the bechamel sauce.
Bechamel sauce:
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Get a pot on medium heat then add your butter. Once the butter has melted add the flour and mix through till you get a paste-like consistency.
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Add the milk bit by bit stirring through on each occasion.
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Once all the milk is added and stirred through, simmer for 15-20 minutes stirring every 2-3 minutes.
Tomato Sauce:
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Get a pot on medium heat and start frying off your onions, garlic and thyme leaves until they are translucent.
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Add the tinned tomatoes and use your spoon to break up the whole tomatoes while stirring.
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Simmer the sauce for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally then season with salt, pepper and sugar.
Cannelloni filling:
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Get a bot or large pan on a medium heat.
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Add a dash of olive oil then start frying your onions and garlic until translucent.
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Next, add your minced beef and use your spoon to break up all the chunks so you don't end up with meatballs.
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Once the beef has been browned nicely add the tomato paste, spinach, cream and 3 quarters of the shredded basil. Mix well and then simmer for 10 minutes.
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Turn the heat off and wait just a few minutes for the mixture to cool down before you stir the egg yolks through so that they won't scramble.
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Season with salt and pepper to finish off the mixture.
Assembly:
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Pre-heat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
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Get a deep baking tray and start by filling it with half of your tomato sauce.
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Next, use a piping bag or if you don't have one just use a teaspoon to fill your cannelloni tubes with the minced meat (pro tip: stand your cannelloni tubes up when filling them, I see many people trying to fill it while laying the tubes down).
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Place your tubes neatly in the tray on top of the tomato sauce, then add the rest of the tomato sauce on top. Ensure that all of the cannelloni tubes are covered with that sauce so that it all gets a nice even cooking when placed in the oven.
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Place your bechamel sauce on top for the next layer then spread evenly.
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Finally, sprinkle your parmesan, mozzarella and the rest of the basil over the top.
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Place in the oven and cook for 30-35 minutes until the cheese goes beautifully golden on top.
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Serve with some simply dressed salad leaves or some steamed veg and enjoy.
Recipe Notes
- If you're feeling lazy, you can use store-bought bechamel sauce and passata for the tomato sauce. However, I do encourage you to try making this from scratch if you can.Â
Looks good and tastes good.
I’ve never had this before, or even heard of it, but it looks/sounds amazing!!!! I will be making it!
Question: How would this be with ground chicken??
Thanks for the advice!!!!
Awesome thank you! you could absolutely use ground chicken and it would be lovely. You could even change up some of the flavors e.g. for chicken maybe you could use sage instead of thyme completely up to you. Feel free to use this to create your own recipe.
no worries (:
A very hearty and tasty filling compared to the usual. I’ve noticed that a number of Italians make a type of ‘cannelloni’ with crepes. I’ve never used the official tubes but I’ve rolled up lasagna noodles for a substitute version when I didn’t want to make a big pan of lasagna.
Wow! This looks fantastic – I definitely want to be invited to a dinner party at your house. : )
Haha you can be my food critic for the cannelloni (;