Delia Smith Cannelloni Recipes

PANCAKE CANNELLONI WITH SPINACH AND FOUR CHEESES

Steps:

• First of all, make the pancakes as described in the Basic Pancakes recipe below, but no need to have sugar or lemon to serve. These pancakes should be thicker so use 2 tablespoons (ie 4 dessertspoons) of batter for each pancake. You should end up with 12-14 pancakes. If you haven't made pancakes before, you can watch how to in our Cookery School Video on the right. Now make the sauce by placing the milk, butter, flour and bay leaf in a saucepan and bring everything up to simmering point, whisking all the time until the sauce has thickened. Season it with salt, pepper and a good grating of nutmeg. Then turn it down to its lowest setting and let the sauce simmer for 2 minutes, and remove it from the heat before stirring in the cream. Meanwhile, cook the spinach by placing it in a large saucepan with the butter and cooking it briefly for 1-2 minutes, tossing it around until it wilts and collapses down, then drain it in a colander and squeeze it hard to get rid of all the excess juice. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400F (200C) Now place the spinach in a bowl, chop it roughly with a knife and then add the ricotta, Gogonzola, parmesan and a grating of the nutmeg. Mix everything together, seasoning with pepper, but no salt, as the cheeses can be quite salty. Next, add the chopped spring onions and 4 or 5 tablespoons of the sauce. Then lay a pancake out and place a tablespoon of the filling on to it, then roll it up, tucking in the edges and repeat this with the remaining pancakes. Lay the filled pancakes side by side in the baking dish and scatter the mozzarella all over them. Next, pour over the sauce. Finally, sprinkle the parmesan over the surface. Then bake the cannelloni on the highest shelf of the oven for 25-30 minutes until the top is brown and sauce is bubbling.

BAKED CANNELLONI

Steps:

• First make the filling by placing all the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and blending everything on a low speed until thoroughly combined. If you don't have a processor, chop everything as finely as possible with a sharp knife and blend it with a fork. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for about 30 minutes to firm up. Next make the sauce by placing the milk, butter, flour, bay leaf, nutmeg and seasonings into a medium-sized saucepan over a medium heat, then, whisking all the time, slowly bring it up to simmering point until the sauce has thickened. Then turn the heat down to its lowest setting and let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes, then remove the bay leaf, stir in the cream, taste to check the seasoning, cover and leave aside. Now pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C), then cut the lasagne sheets in half so that you have 16 pieces. Next divide the meat mixture in half and then each half into 8, then lightly roll each of these into a sausage shape about 3 inches (7.5 cm) long. Place each one on to a piece of lasagne and roll it up, starting from one of the shorter edges. As you do this, arrange them in the baking dish with the join underneath - what you should have is two rows neatly fitting together lengthways in the dish. Now pour the sauce over and scatter the Mozzarella cubes here and there. Finally, scatter the Parmesan over the top and place the dish on the centre shelf of the oven to bake for 40 minutes, by which time it should be golden brown and bubbling. Then remove it from the oven and let it settle for about 10 minutes before serving. Finally, sprinkle a little extra Parmesan over. See more Baked Pasta recipes in our Online Cookery School Video on this page.

PANCAKE CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200C or 400 degrees F.
• Make the béchamel sauce by the all-in-one method.
• That means to add everything (except the mozzarella) to a saucepan and whisk over a medium heat till smooth and thickened.
• Continue to cook gently for 5 minutes, whisking now and then to prevent it sticking.
• Now lay the pancakes out and place an equal quantity (about 1 heaped tbsp) of cold bolognese sauce on each one and roll it up, folding in the edges.
• Next lay the pancakes in an ovenproof dish side by side with the ends tucked up underneath.
• Sprinkle over the grated mozzarella.
• Pour the bechamel sauce over the top to give an even covering.
• Finally sprinkle over the grated parmesan and oil and place the dish on a high shelf in the oven for 30 minutes or until the surface is golden and the sauce bubbling.

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.