Italian Sausage Cannelloni

Although it might seem that cannelloni have been eaten since ancient times, this is a recent custom. You could not find it in any Catalan cookbook until the start of the 20th century. Cannelloni originally came from Italy, brought to Catalonia at the end of the 18th century by foreign chefs working in hotels.

There is a basic difference between Catalan and Italian cannelloni. With Catalan, the meat is cooked first, then ground, whereas the Italians put the ground meat straight into the cannelloni tubes.

Manicotti is the Italian American version of cannelloni. Both are pasta tubes, but the difference between the two is fairly minimal: Manicotti tubes are ridged, larger and slightly thicker. Cannelloni tubes are smooth, a touch smaller and slightly thinner.

Over the years, no-boil (also called oven-ready) cannelloni tubes have become a permanent fixture on supermarket shelves. Much like ‘instant rice’, no-boil pasta is precooked at the factory. The pasta tubes are run through a water bath and then dehydrated mechanically. During baking, the moisture from the sauce softens, or rehydrates, the pasta, especially when the pan is covered as the cannelloni bakes.

This baked pasta can be stuffed with a myriad of fillings that suit any taste, from chicken with asparagus to shrimp and lentils. Whether you make a meat sauce, a mixture of herbs and ricotta cheese, or fish accompanied by a tomato sauce, the filling can be made the day before. In fact, this will make it even tastier. 

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Italian Sausage Cannelloni
Instructions
Filling
  1. In a large skillet over medium heat, add oil, onion & mushrooms. Cook for 5-10 minutes allowing the onion to soften & mushrooms to release their liquid.
  2. Once most of the liquid has dissipated, add sausage crumbling it with a wooden spoon into small pieces as it cooks. Stir & cook all ingredients until the onion is softened & the sausage is no longer pink & is starting to brown. Set aside.
Béchamel Sauce
  1. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, paprika & Italian seasoning & stir until well incorporated. Slowly, add milk & whisk together until smooth. Continue whisking until sauce comes to a slow boil & starts to thicken. Stir 1/3 of the sauce into the sausage mixture. (Reserve the other two thirds to pour under & over the cannelloni.) Add 340 gm shredded mozzarella to the sausage & sauce mixture & mix to combine.
Assembly/Baking
  1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
  2. Spread a bit of sauce over the bottom of (2) 13 X 9-inch baking pans. Using a large pastry tube with a star tip, fill (oven ready) cannelloni shells. Nestle the cannelloni in the sauce & cover with remaining sauce.
  3. Top with a combo of 50 gm shredded mozzarella & 25 gm shredded Parmesan. Cover with foil.
  4. Bake for 45 minutes, remove foil & bake another 5 minutes or until cheese starts to turn golden. Remove from oven, let stand 5 minutes then serve.
Recipe Notes
  • As far as the cheese goes in this recipe, use whatever kind you prefer or have on hand. You know it will always be great because 'cheese makes it better' right!
  • This meal freezes well so if it is to big for your family in one setting just freeze the rest for another time.

Bacon & Mushroom Cannelloni w/ Gorgonzola Sauce

Named cannelloni in Italy, this tasty stuffed pasta dish is known in North America as manicotti. The word cannelloni literally means ‘a big pipe’ and manicotti loosely translates as ‘a big sleeve‘.

The origin of Cannelloni dates back to around 1907, when Nicola Federico, a well-known chef from Naples, Italy, invented this pasta. He created it while working at the La Favoria, a popular restaurant in Sorrento, Italy. Initially, this tubular pasta was called ‘strascinati’, which soon came to be known by the name that is popular today …. cannelloni. It gained popularity when the residents of Naples fled to Sorrento, during World War II, which is when they got introduced to this pasta. Although the origin of cannelloni is relatively recent, its enormous versatility and delicious flavor has quickly made it a classic in the kitchen worldwide.

Currently, between traditional recipes and modern and creative reinterpretations, in Italy it is possible to come across hundreds of variations that present sauces, flours and in general always different ingredients and characteristics. 

Being pasta lovers, cannelloni definitely works for Brion & I.

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Bacon & Mushroom Cannelloni w/ Gorgonzola Sauce
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Instructions
Filling
  1. Chop washed leek, mushrooms & bacon. Fry all together with garlic in oil for a few minutes then place in a bowl with the parsley (if using) to cool.
Sauce
  1. Melt butter in a saucepan, add the flour & mix for a few minutes until it forms a paste. Slowly pour in the milk a little at a time & stir as you cook it to the consistency of a thin custard. Simmer for 5 minutes, add crumbled gorgonzola & simmer until melted & incorporated. Add 1/2 cup to the filling, season with salt, pepper & smoky ranchero seasoning.
  2. Preheat oven to 325 F.
Stuffing Cannelloni
  1. Stuff the cannelloni with the filling. Spread a small amount of gorgonzola sauce in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Place cannelloni on top. Pour the gorgonzola sauce over the top of the cannelloni.
Bake
  1. Cover dish with foil & bake 60-65 minutes. Remove from oven & serve.
Recipe Notes
  • If you wish, save a small amount of the gorgonzola to sprinkle on top after pouring the sauce over the cannelloni before baking it.