There are a million ways you can make canneloni. The combination of fillings and sauces are up to your imagination! My mum used to cook up a beef canneloni with a tomato filling, and so I followed suit. Of course I experiment with other possibilities, but I consider this the classic recipe.
Some people use the tomato sauce on the bottom of the baking pan, placing the canneloni on top of the passata and then smothering it with cheese. Others place the canneloni in first and then pour the tomato on top. My personal preference is combining the two and using both as filling, while drizzling over a delicious buttery cheese sauce. And if you really like cheese, you could sprinkle some extra on top afterwards!
Canneloni is a bit like lasagne: there are a million options for combinations, and the ingredients are made separately and then combined in the oven. Try this fantastic vegetable lasagne, and you’ll see what I mean.
Next, pour in the passata, a pinch of salt, a couple twists of black pepper and the basil. Let it all simmer together between 15 and 20 minutes.
While the meat is simmering, you can prepare the topping and preheat the oven to 200ºC.
Melt butter in a saucepan. When completely melted, whisk in the flour for a minute or two. When completely dissolved, you can add the milk. This step should be done slowly and carefully so as to avoid lumps.
Add salt, pepper and nutmeg and simmer for five minutes, until the sauce has thickened.
Remove from the heat and add the Parmesan cheese and cherry tomatoes, stirring them all together.
Take the meat and tomato mixture, stuffing it inside the canneloni.
Gently place the canneloni side-by-side in a large baking dish, pouring the cheese sauce on top.
Bake for 20 minutes and serve piping hot. But be careful not to burn your mouth!
Crab is obviously just one of the many delicious and varied ‘frutti di mare’, or ‘fruits of the sea’ commonly found in Italian food. And, given that almost all of Italy’s regions have stretches of coast, it’s no wonder our rich seafood is omnipresent in our cuisine.
And, of course, feel free to switch out spaghetti for any other similar pasta like tagliatelli or fettucine. Any of those options would work.
A similar-tasting meat is crayfish meat, which are only found in fresh water. If you want to try out a recipe using crayfish, try this crayfish rice with mango recipe.
Like some other of my recipes in the blog, you can start off with the pasta, as the whole meal is done very quickly, whilst the pasta cooks.
A light, leafy green salad, using something like iceberg lettuce or Romaine (also known as Cos) lettuce, makes a good accompaniment to this dish, as would a dry white wine. A floral French Bordeaux wine would be one option, whilst the more flinty taste of Chablis, from Burgundy, would be another. Despite the differences, either type of wine pairs up nicely with crab, I think.
Remove from the heat, add the remaining oil, the juice of half a lemon, and season. Stir well to combine all the ingredients.
Drain the pasta and return to the pan. Add the chilli/crab mixture and stir it all together. Serve to warm plates, garnished with the cherry tomatoes and fennel fronds or parsley.
Buon' giorno! Welcome to my Italian food blog.
I am Italian, and proud of it! Italy has so much going for it: with one foot quite literally in the beautiful Mediterranean, my
country’s climate and location give us an amazing cornucopia of ingredients, which is why our culture is steeped in a hearty
romantic culinary tradition. My wife and I love our food, so all my recipes are designed for two. If you're cooking for an average
sized modern family - perhaps not the traditional extended Italian family - just double the quantities.
Crab is obviously just one of the many delicious and varied ‘frutti di mare’, or ‘fruits of the sea’ commonly found in Italian food. And, given that almost all of Italy’s regions have stretches of coast, it’s no wonder our rich seafood is omnipresent in our cuisine.
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