Basil And Ricotta Cannelloni Recipes

BASIL AND RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet with oil. Working in three batches, drop pasta into boiling water, stirring to ensure it doesn't stick. Cook until pliable but still retaining some chew, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or mesh spider, transfer, one at a time, to oiled pan and lay flat, turning to lightly coat. Drizzle with additional oil as necessary to prevent sticking.
• Return water to a boil; add onion and cook until bulb is tender and greens are still bright, about 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer to a colander. Add basil to boiling water and cook just until bright, 30 seconds; drain and transfer to colander with onion, reserving 1/4 cup blanching water. Firmly press onion and basil to remove as much liquid as possible; transfer to a cutting board and finely chop. Place in a medium bowl and stir in ricotta, yolks, lemon zest, half of the Pecorino Romano, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; season with pepper. Stir thoroughly to combine. (Filling can be made 1 day ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container.)
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a broilerproof 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Lay a square of pasta on a clean work surface; spoon 3 tablespoons ricotta mixture in a line about 1 inch away from and parallel to a short edge. Roll pasta up to enclose filling, making a tube about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Repeat with remaining pasta squares and filling. Place cannelloni snugly in buttered baking dish, in a single layer of three rows of six. Stir reserved blanching water into cream, lightly season with salt and pepper, and spoon over cannelloni. Carefully tear zucchini blossoms in half lengthwise and drape a half-blossom over each cannellono. Sprinkle remaining Pecorino Romano over pasta to cover; lightly drizzle with oil. Bake, uncovered, until cannelloni are bubbling and hot in centers, about 15 minutes. Turn oven to broiler setting; broil until golden brown on top, about 5 minutes more. Let cool slightly before serving.

WEIGHT WATCHERS CRAB, RICOTTA & BASIL CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180°C
• Combine crab, shallots, ricotta, nutmeg, basil and egg in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
• Use a teaspoon to spoon filling into the cannelloni shells. Pour 1/2 cup pasta sauce over the base of a 1.5L (6 cup) capacity oven proof ceramic dish. Arrange cannelloni on top.
• Pour over the remaining pasta sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil. Bake for a further 10 minutes or until pasta is tender and cheese is golden. Serve.

SPINACH & RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• First make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the garlic for 1 min. Add the sugar, vinegar, tomatoes and some seasoning and simmer for 20 mins, stirring occasionally, until thick. Add the basil and divide the sauce between 2 or more shallow ovenproof dishes (see Tips for freezing, below). Set aside. Make a sauce by beating the mascarpone with the milk until smooth, season, then set aside.
• Put the spinach in a large colander and pour over a kettle of boiling water to wilt it (you may need to do this in batches). When cool enough to handle squeeze out the excess water. Roughly chop the spinach and mix in a large bowl with 100g Parmesan and ricotta. Season well with salt, pepper and the nutmeg.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Using a piping bag or plastic food bag with the corner snipped off, squeeze the filling into the cannelloni tubes. Lay the tubes, side by side, on top of the tomato sauce and spoon over the mascarpone sauce. Top with Parmesan and mozzarella. You can now freeze the cannelloni, uncooked, or you can cook it first and then freeze. Bake for 30-35 mins until golden and bubbling. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 mins before serving.