Group categories: Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine has a wide variety of pasta dishes, among which cannelloni (canno - tube) stands out. To prepare it, you need to use tubes approximately 10 cm long with a diameter of at least 2 cm. They are stuffed with a variety of minced meat (meat, fish, vegetables, mushrooms) and baked in the oven, topped with aromatic gravy. Sometimes similar recipes can be found under the name manicotti, which means sleeves or muffs.
In almost all countries, the dish is called the first or second option, meaning the same recipe. But, if the sheets for folding are used for cooking (sometimes they take semi-finished product for lasagna), then this is cannelloni. And when stuffing ready-made tubes, it is more correct to say when serving that this is manicotti. At home, housewives prefer to offer dinner, saying the first option.
It is believed that Salvatore Coletta was the first to roll a layer of dough into tubes, fix it with a skewer and stuff it, simply wanting to serve pasta in an original way in a famous restaurant. The recipe gained popularity much later, when another chef Nicolo Federico began experimenting with it, baking prepared semi-finished products in the oven, pouring aromatic sauce over them.
Classic recipe with tomato sauce
Cannelloni (the recipe with minced meat is presented in the article), according to the classic version, should be cooked in tomato sauce with the addition of wine.
Cannelloni - recipe with tomato sauce.
You can use any minced pork or chicken, but more often for Italian dishes they use veal.
Composition of ingredients
Product set:
- minced meat – 400 g;
- dough tubes – 10 pcs.;
- medium-sized tomatoes – 3 pcs.;
- tomato paste – 4 tbsp. l.;
- onions – 2 heads;
- red wine – 60 ml;
- water – 1 tbsp.;
- garlic – 1 clove;
- olive oil – 3 tbsp. l.;
- fresh herbs – 1/3 bunch;
- Provençal herbs – 1\2 tsp;
- salt, bay leaf and pepper - to taste.
Calorie content
Calorie content | Squirrels | Fats | Carbohydrates |
158.6 kcal | 6.3 g | 6.7 g | 16.9 g |
What can be added and changed in the composition
Tomato paste can be removed from the composition and prepared separately from fresh tomatoes, boiling them until thick. Don’t be afraid to pour in red wine, because all the alcohol will evaporate during cooking. If the housewife is still afraid, then she should replace it with water or broth.
Step-by-step cooking process
Step-by-step preparation:
- Peel all the onions, chop 1 head very finely and mix with the minced meat, not forgetting to add half the spices, salt and pepper.
- Rinse the tomatoes under the tap, make a cross-shaped cut on top, scald with boiling water and remove the peel.
- After grinding the red vegetable in a blender or grating, place them in a thick-walled bowl, heated over medium heat with the addition of olive oil.
- Simmer, removing the foam, for about 5 minutes, and then put tomato paste, chopped garlic and herbs, and chopped onions into this bowl.
- Stirring constantly, keep on fire for another 2-3 minutes and pour in water, and when everything boils, add wine. Boil the composition for about 3-4 minutes.
- Fill large pasta (do not boil) very carefully with minced meat, place them in a deep dish, greased with olive oil, leaving space between them.
- Pour the tomato paste over everything and place it in the oven, preheated to 180°C, and bake for 40 minutes.
Decoration and serving rules
For a family dinner, the dish can be served immediately in the form, placing it in the middle of the table. This way, everyone can put on the required amount of cannelloni.
When receiving guests, it is better to carefully divide the pasta in the mold, and then portion it onto plates.
Recipe 4: how to cook cannelloni in Italian
- cannelloni – 300-350 grams;
- carrots – 1 pc.;
- onion – 1 pc.;
- minced beef (or pork) – 400 gr.;
- salt and spices;
- vegetable oil - for frying;
- sausage cheese – 150 gr.;
- sour cream – 100 gr.;
- mayonnaise – 100 gr.;
- garlic – 3-4 cloves;
- milk – 2-3 tbsp.
Wash medium-sized carrots well and grate them. Peel a small onion and finely chop.
Pour refined vegetable oil into a heated frying pan and fry the vegetables for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
When the vegetables are fried, add fresh minced meat, mix all the ingredients and add a little salt, add spices to taste, add a small amount of water and simmer for 15 minutes.
The cannelloni filling is ready.
Let's start preparing a spicy sauce from sausage cheese, which needs to be cut into small pieces. Place the cheese pieces in the bowl of a blender or food processor.
And grind it.
Place thick sour cream and mayonnaise in a separate bowl.
Add chopped cheese to the sour cream and mayonnaise in the bowl. Squeeze the garlic here.
Mix all ingredients for the sauce vigorously and add a little milk. Spicy Italian sauce is ready.
Fill the cannelloni pasta with cooled, already fried minced meat with vegetables and place in a square baking dish, previously greased with butter. Do not overdo it with the filling, because if there is too much minced meat, the pasta will burst.
Pour the sauce generously over the top of the cannelloni with the minced meat until they are covered.
The oven should be preheated to 180 degrees and the cannelloni should be baked for 30 minutes.
The dish is ready. Serve the original dish with the resulting golden cheese crust directly to the table, let every member of your family feel this unforgettable aroma.
With minced meat and Bechamel sauce
This recipe will remind many housewives of preparing lasagna, where bechamel is also used as a filling.
To get a flavorful crust, you will need to sprinkle the dish with grated cheese.
Composition of ingredients
Ingredients:
- minced veal – 500 g;
- voluminous pasta tubes – 250 g;
- tomatoes - 2 fruits;
- carrots – 1 pc.;
- celery (stems) – 100 g;
- semi-dry red wine – 50 ml;
- vegetable oil – 2 tbsp. l.;
- milk – 700 ml;
- butter – 100 g;
- flour – 2 tbsp. l.;
- nutmeg – 1 pinch;
- Parmesan cheese – 100 g;
- salt, black pepper and Italian herbs - to taste.
Calorie content
Calorie content | Squirrels | Fats | Carbohydrates |
192.0 kcal | 7.7 g | 12.3 g | 11.9 g |
What can be added and changed in the composition
Ground beef can be replaced with pork or chicken product. If you use cream instead of milk, then you should reduce the amount of butter by 2 times.
Step-by-step cooking process
Detailed Guide:
- Peel all the vegetables, rinse and chop: cut the celery into circles, grate the carrots and tomatoes.
- Heat a frying pan with vegetable oil over medium heat, add the prepared vegetables and sauté until soft.
- Now add the minced meat to them, immediately add salt and pepper and fry, being sure to break up large lumps for about 3-4 minutes.
- Pour wine into the mixture, sprinkle with Italian herbs and simmer covered for 45 minutes, reducing the flame to low.
- Next, in a separate bowl, melt the butter over low heat, fry the flour a little until slightly golden brown.
- Heat the milk in a saucepan, immediately pour in the nutmeg, and pour it into the flour mixture in a thin stream, stirring constantly so that no lumps form.
- Add a little salt to the bechamel sauce and simmer until thick.
- Blanch the pasta in boiling water for 2 minutes, and then stuff it with the filling that has cooled by this time.
- Place half of the sauce in a heat-resistant deep dish, distribute the cannelloni, and pour the rest of the Bechamel on top.
- Bake at 200°C in a preheated oven for 20 minutes, sprinkle with grated cheese and leave in the oven for another 10-15 minutes. until a golden brown crust appears.
Decoration and serving rules
To serve, separate the required amount of pasta and place on plates. You can put fresh vegetables nearby and sprinkle everything with chopped herbs.
For multicooker fans
Fans of this kitchen device claim that it reveals an Italian dish from a completely unexpected side. The most successful filling is considered to be mixed minced meat - pork and beef. In principle, the preparatory stage or method of stuffing cannelloni is no different from the usual tradition. But further preparation is extremely exclusive.
Instead of classic bechamel, small pieces of onion are fried in baking mode for no more than 5 minutes. Then the same small pieces of garlic are added to them - for another three minutes. Next - tomatoes without skins (and also very finely chopped) - plus the next five minutes.
Sour cream, tomato paste and boiling water are combined in a separate container. The pasta with filling is placed in the bowl of the unit, fried, and the sauce is on top. It should almost completely cover the contents. To finally bring the stuffed cannelloni to readiness, turn on the “Pilaf” mode in the multicooker. If it often makes the bottom of the dish burnt, you can replace it with the “Baking” mode (limit it to forty minutes).
As you can see, what you want can be achieved in different ways and with different content. There would be a desire to eat deliciously!
With minced chicken and cream
Cannelloni, a recipe with minced meat which is useful for family dinners and gatherings of friends, can be prepared with chicken breast. Instead of wasting time making sauce, you can simply top the food with heavy cream before baking.
Composition of ingredients
Compound:
- chicken breast – 500 g;
- onion – 1 head;
- package of large pasta – 200 g;
- cream (more than 20% fat) – 500 ml;
- nutmeg (powder) – 1 pinch;
- Italian seasonings – 1\3 tsp;
- salt and pepper - to taste.
Calorie content
Calorie content | Squirrels | Fats | Carbohydrates |
164.2 kcal | 11.9 g | 6.8 g | 13.4 g |
What can be added and changed in the composition
You can reduce calorie content by using white turkey meat instead of chicken breast and replacing heavy cream with low-fat cream.
Step-by-step cooking process
Step by step cooking instructions:
- Remove the film from the chicken breast, remove any remaining bones, rinse and immediately dry with kitchen napkins.
- First cut the meat into plates, then into strips and finally chop finely with a sharp knife.
- Remove the top layer of onions, rinse, chop into very small cubes and add to the chicken product.
- Salt the composition, sprinkle with seasoning, salt and ground black pepper, mix, and at the end be sure to beat the pieces on the bottom of the dish, achieving uniformity.
- Distribute the resulting filling over the cannelloni, trying not to break them, distribute, leaving a distance between them, the workpiece at the bottom of the greased deep form.
- Immediately turn on the oven to 180°C to heat up, place a saucepan on the stove and pour the cream into it.
- Add nutmeg, a little salt to the milk mixture and just heat until foam forms on the surface.
- Pour the cream over the pasta and immediately place the pan in the oven. Approximate cooking time will be 45-50 minutes.
Decoration and serving rules
The dish must be constantly monitored in the oven, as its power can vary greatly and the cannelloni will burn.
When ready, place the pasta into serving bowls and sprinkle with fresh herbs. Additionally, you can offer guests chopped vegetables.
Recipe from Lazerson
This version of the Italian recipe differs not only in the presence of spinach among the ingredients.
The famous culinary expert suggests giving up onions and adding shallots, which give a more delicate taste.
Composition of ingredients
Product set:
- minced beef – 500 g;
- milk – 180 ml;
- shallots – 100 g;
- parmesan – 100 g;
- butter, olive oil - 3 tbsp. l.;
- manicotti – 250 g;
- spinach – 100 g;
- cream – 2 tbsp. l.;
- nutmeg – 1 pinch;
- flour - 3 tbsp. l.;
- salt and white pepper - to taste.
Calorie content
Calorie content | Squirrels | Fats | Carbohydrates |
236.9 kcal | 12.3 g | 13.3 g | 16.3 g |
Step-by-step cooking process
Detailed Guide:
- Remove the top layer from the onion, chop it into half rings and place in a frying pan heated over medium heat with olive oil.
- The vegetable should just soften a little and give off a lingering aroma when you add the ground beef to the bowl. Continue cooking, stirring constantly so that the meat product does not form lumps.
- After 5-6 minutes. add spinach, which has been washed in advance. Literally after 1 minute, when its color becomes brighter, pour flour (1 tablespoon) through a strainer, then the minced meat will become sticky, which will help further work. All that remains is to mix and pour in the cream.
- Simmer the mixture over low heat for another 3-4 minutes. under the lid, not forgetting to add salt and pepper.
- For the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, add the sifted flour, fry it until slightly caramel in color, immediately adding a little salt.
- Taking a whisk in your hands, immediately pour the milk into the saucepan and stir vigorously, achieving uniformity of the composition.
- When the sauce thickens, set it aside.
- Stuff the manicotti with meat mixture, placing the finished products in one row in the mold, spread the bechamel on top and place the dish in the oven (180°) for 35-40 minutes.
- In 12 min. Before the end of cooking, sprinkle grated cheese on top of the pasta.
Decoration and serving rules
Divide the dish into portions without cutting the manicotti, place on plates, garnish with herbs.
With mushrooms
Cannelloni cooked with mushrooms and minced meat according to this recipe will turn out more aromatic with a piquant taste.
Also, the pasta will have a lower calorie content, which is often desired by people watching their figure.
Composition of ingredients
Compound:
- minced meat (any) – 400 g;
- garlic – 2 cloves;
- cannelloni – 10 pcs.;
- champignons – 300 pcs.;
- hard cheese – 150 g;
- onion – 1 head;
- tomato paste – 100 g;
- olive oil – 4 tbsp. l.;
- seasonings with salt - to taste.
Calorie content
Calorie content | Squirrels | Fats | Carbohydrates |
176.6 kcal | 11.3 g | 8.3 g | 12.7 g |
What can be added and changed in the composition
Instead of champignons, you can take any wild mushrooms, which will add more flavor to the dish. But it should be borne in mind that many of their types must first be boiled, and some must be soaked. Also, many people replace tomato sauce with sour cream.
Step-by-step cooking process
Step-by-step preparation:
- In a frying pan heated with olive oil (take only half of the indicated volume), first fry the chopped onion with chopped garlic.
- As soon as the kitchen is filled with the persistent aroma of vegetables, immediately add the minced meat and continue cooking, constantly breaking up the formed lumps.
- In a separate frying pan with the remaining oil, saute the champignons, washed and diced in advance, until lightly browned.
- Add the mushrooms to the minced meat, salt and pepper the mixture, and then simmer everything together over low heat for about 2-3 minutes.
- After letting the minced meat cool slightly, stuff the pasta with it and place them in a row at the bottom of a greased form.
- Now in a separate bowl, mix tomato paste with boiled water in a 1:1 ratio, add salt and add spices to the composition.
- Pour the resulting sauce over the pasta and place it in the oven, preheated to 190°C, for 35 minutes.
- In 15 min. Until the end of cooking, sprinkle the cannelloni with grated cheese.
Decoration and serving rules
When a golden brown crust forms on the surface of the dish, remove the pan from the oven, divide it into portions between the pasta with a spatula and place on flat plates. Additionally, you can add sauce by mixing sour cream with pressed garlic and chopped herbs.
Recipe 6: cannelloni with eggplant (with photos step by step)
- Cannelloni 2 pcs
- Eggplant 1-2 pcs
- Tomato 1 piece
- Onion 1 head
- Garlic 2-3 sprigs
- Basil, parsley 50 gr
- Parmesan 50 ml Olive oil to taste
- Spices: salt, black pepper
Boil the cannelloni tubes until tender in plenty of lightly salted water. Cooking time is indicated on the package. In my case, the recommended time is 8 minutes. Carefully lower the cannelloni into the boiling water and stir carefully, so as not to damage the pasta, so that the pasta does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Record the time after boiling.
When the pasta is cooked, carefully remove it from the boiling water and place it in a single layer on a large plate. Cover the top with an inverted plate to prevent the cannelloni from drying out. It is better to cool the cannelloni so as not to burn your hands when stuffing.
Peel the onion and cut into very thin strips. Fry the onion in olive oil until golden brown. It is better to stir so that the onion does not burn.
Peel the purple skin from the eggplants and cut into cubes. Add the eggplants to the onions, add salt and pepper and simmer without water or with a small amount of water under the lid for 15 minutes.
Add the pulp of half the tomatoes prepared for the dish, after removing the seeds and skin. Continue simmering until you get a stew of eggplant, tomato and onion. This is 10-15 minutes. The stew should be thick enough so that it does not spill out when stuffing.
Why don’t I recommend stuffing cannelloni with minced vegetables to the fullest?
Firstly, this is not meat, the mince of which is quite dense.
Secondly, 10 cannelloni will require a kilogram of eggplant, several onions and tomatoes. That's a lot for lunch for two.
And thirdly, you want to feel the taste of pasta with filling, and not the taste of stew with dough. Therefore, I recommend filling the cannelloni with vegetables - “halfway”, i.e. quite loose. However, I don't insist.
Using a teaspoon, fill the cannelloni with the eggplant ragu and place them in a baking tray or baking dish greased with olive oil.
Sprinkle the cannelloni with minced meat with finely chopped parsley and basil, add a little salt and pepper. Grate the garlic - preferably young - and spread over the cannelloni. The remaining tomato, without skin or seeds, thinly slice and place on top of the cannelloni. Sprinkle with olive oil - 1 tbsp.
Next, the baking process begins, Al forno - put the form with the cannelloni in the oven or oven, preheated to 220-230 degrees, for 20-25 minutes. While the cannelloni and minced meat are baking, grate the Parmesan cheese on a fine grater.
After the allotted time, sprinkle the hot cannelloni with Parmesan cheese and place in the oven again until the cheese is melted and browned.
Cannelloni with eggplants are ready. Place cannelloni with minced meat on plates and serve immediately.
With zucchini
Cannelloni (a recipe with minced meat and vegetables can be included in the diet menu) is often modified by chefs, trying to create new shades of taste. The dish will be more tender if you use minced chicken or twisted veal meat.
Composition of ingredients
Ingredients:
- cannelloni – 15 pcs.;
- cream 10% – 500 ml;
- minced meat – 600 g;
- zucchini – 300 g;
- onion – 1 head;
- cheese – 200 g;
- salt, seasonings - to taste.
Calorie content
Calorie content | Squirrels | Fats | Carbohydrates |
158.8 kcal | 9.5 g | 8.6 g | 10.8 g |
What can be added and changed in the composition
You can take even less minced meat, replacing it with other vegetables (for example, bell peppers, carrots).
Step-by-step cooking process
Detailed description of the recipe:
- Rinse the zucchini under the tap, remove all the peel and, if it is a young zucchini, immediately chop it on the coarse side of a grater. If there are large seeds inside, you will need to remove them.
- Salt the mixture a little and let it sit for about 2 minutes. and drain off all the resulting juice.
- Cut off half the cheese, grate it and mix with the vegetable mass, and then with the minced meat. Add chopped onion, seasoning, salt to this and achieve uniformity of the composition.
- First boil the cannelloni in salted water for no longer than 3 minutes, drain in a colander, draining all the liquid, and then stuff with the prepared filling.
- Arrange the pasta in 1 row along the bottom of a deep form, pour in cream and place in the oven preheated to 180°C for 15 minutes.
- After the allotted time, sprinkle with the rest of the grated cheese and leave in the oven for the same period of time.
Decoration and serving rules
Serve the dish, letting it sit for a while and arranging it in portions on plates. To decorate the top of the pasta, it is better to sprinkle chopped herbs.
With minced fish
Cannelloni (the recipe with minced red fish is presented below) can be prepared for the festive table. This recipe does not require a lot of ingredients, but its taste will delight all guests.
Composition of ingredients
Set of products for 3 servings:
- cannelloni – 9 pcs.;
- fresh salmon – 550 g;
- dry white wine – 60 ml;
- chicken eggs – 2 pcs.;
- cream – 120 ml;
- lemon juice – 2 tsp;
- cheese – 120 g;
- salt, spices, herbs - to taste.
Calorie content
Calorie content | Squirrels | Fats | Carbohydrates |
172.6 kcal | 12.7 g | 8.3 g | 10.8 g |
What can be added and changed in the composition
It is permissible to replace salmon with another fish, but it is better not to take completely lean species. You can also add meat from other sea creatures (shrimp, squid, mussels) to the minced meat.
Step-by-step cooking process
Cooking step by step:
- Blanch large pasta in boiling, salted water for 3 minutes, drain in a colander and let cool slightly.
- At this time, remove the bones and skin from the salmon and cut into small cubes (do not twist to get a better taste).
- Salt the minced fish, sprinkle with spices and pepper if desired, pour in lemon juice, mix thoroughly and fill the cannelloni with it.
- Place the pasta tubes in a baking dish, lightly greased with olive oil in advance.
- In a separate bowl, beat until fluffy, then add cream, wine, and half the grated cheese.
- Stir the sauce until smooth, pour it over the cannelloni, immediately sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and place in the oven preheated to 200°C for 20 minutes.
Decoration and serving rules
To serve the dish, you need to use flat plates, on which you place 3 stuffed tubes. Additionally, you can offer your guests baked vegetables.
Options for fillings and additives
In addition to bechamel, tomato sauce is no less often used - it is also popular in Italian cooking. Moreover, if bechamel has a rather strict recipe for preparation from a very limited number of ingredients, then in tomato they use what “feels good to the soul” - mushrooms, and a whole variety of spices, and a large assortment of herbs. The main thing is not to overdo it with aroma, so as not to overwhelm the smell of the filling.
It’s no less interesting to come up with ideas than to stuff cannelloni: there are almost no restrictions. The recipe for such pasta stuffed with eggplant is widely known, and experts believe that it is one of the best. It should be remembered that these stuffed cannelloni baked with cheese are tastier than without it.
No less interesting are these Italian pasta stuffed with cottage cheese. The secret is that the fermented milk product must be thoroughly mixed with herbs and egg - the latter ensures very careful placement of the filling into the tubes. Next - traditionally: bechamel - cheese - oven. Those who have tried it are completely delighted.
The fish cannelloni are quite good. But their preparation has several nuances. First of all, the fish fillet is cut into long but thin slices, which are carefully inserted inside the tubes. The sauce, again, is not exactly bechamel. The yolks of 3 eggs with two tablespoons of dry white wine are beaten in a water bath, and melted butter (a total of 100 g) is slowly poured into the mixture. After removing from the burner, everything is salted, peppered, flavored with lemon juice and cream is added. Stuffed pasta is poured with the resulting sauce, sprinkled with cheese and baked for about a quarter of an hour.
As you can see, preparing fish cannelloni is not so easy, but the result is worth it.
Useful tips
Some useful tips for preparing cannelloni:
- When choosing pasta, you should pay attention to its integrity, and the presence of crumbs in the package will indicate a low-quality product.
- You need to buy minced meat chilled or cook it yourself to get a tasty, juicy dish.
- Baking time always depends on the power of the oven. Therefore, it may differ from the proposed intervals.
- If the housewife uses fish, chicken or pre-fried minced meat in the recipe, then the cannelloni can be pre-blanched. For a raw meat product, it is better not to boil them, so that the cooking time for the filling and pasta is approximately the same.
Stuffed cannelloni
Pasta in the form of large tubes has such an interesting name. How to prepare cannelloni and general recommendations for preparing this dish can be found below:
- Meat, vegetable, and cheese masses are suitable as fillings. With each of them the food comes out delicious in its own way.
- Some pasta should be boiled for a couple of minutes before stuffing. Other options do not require pre-cooking.
- Stuffed tubes are baked in the oven with sauce. Bechamel is used more often than others. An important point is that there should be a lot of it so that the food does not turn out too dry.