Chicken Spinach Cannelloni Pie Food

SPINACH & RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Put the spinach and a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over a low heat. Add the nutmeg, season with sea salt and black pepper, cover and leave to sweat. Help the kids to stir it occasionally until the spinach has cooked down. Place in a bowl and set to one side to cool a little.
• Dice the onion and squash the garlic. In the same pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil and gently sweat the onion until soft.
• Scrunch in the tomatoes through your clean hands and add the garlic and bay leaf. Pick in a few basil leaves and grate in the zest of the lemon half, then let it gently simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper.
• Have the kids squeeze the moisture out of the spinach into the bowl. Place the spinach on a board so you can chop it up. Return the spinach to the liquid in the bowl.
• Beat the egg and grate 2 teaspoons of Parmesan cheese. Get the kids to stir the ricotta, egg and Parmesan into the spinach. Season to taste.
• Sit a piping bag in a jug, fold its edges over the rim, then spoon in the spinach mixture. Have the kids help pipe the mixture into the cannelloni tubes and lay them in a 20cm x 25cm oven dish.
• Spread the tomato sauce over the cannelloni. Pick the remaining basil leaves and scatter most of them over the tomato sauce. Slice the mozzarella and lay the slices on top, drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and season.
• Place in the oven and cook for 35 to 40 minutes or till the top is golden and the pasta tender (if the top browns too fast, cover the dish with foil). Remove from the oven and let stand for a few minutes before serving with the remaining basil leaves.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE, SPINACH, AND RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and saute the onion until fragrant and translucent. Add the Italian sausage meat, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon and brown it until no longer pink, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain the excess fat from the sausage meat, and set aside to cool. In a large mixing bowl stir together the drained and squeeze-dried spinach, ricotta, 1 1/2 cups Parmesan, eggs, cooled Italian sausage and onion mixture, salt, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Place the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the fresh pasta rectangles for 1 minute and remove with a slotted spatula. Set aside. In a 9 by 13-inch baking dish, spread 2 cups tomato sauce. Working with 1 pasta rectangle at a time, spread 6 tablespoons filling along one edge and roll the pasta sheet up tightly, leaving the ends open. Repeat until you have 8 cannelloni. Arrange the prepared cannelloni, seam-side down, in a single layer in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining 2 cups tomato sauce evenly over the cannelloni. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup grated Parmesan over top. Bake the cannelloni for 20 minutes and let it stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve the cannelloni with extra tomato sauce from the baking dish and garnish with fresh basil.
• To make fresh pasta dough: Mound the flour on a clean work surface. Hollow out the center making a well in the middle of the flour with steep sides. Break the eggs into the well. Add the salt, and olive oil to the hollow center and gently mix together with a fork. Gradually start incorporating the flour by pulling in the flour from the sides of the well. As you incorporate more of the flour, the dough will start to take shape. With your hands or a bench scraper continue working the dough until it comes together. If the dough is too dry, add a little water; if too wet or sticky, add a little flour. Begin kneading the dough and keep kneading until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. At this point, set the dough aside, cover it with plastic, and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. You can store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, but allow it to return to room temperature before rolling it out. Divide the pasta dough into 4 even sections. Keep each section covered with plastic wrap or a clean towel while you work with each one. Flour the dough, the rollers of a pasta roller (or your rolling pin), your hands, and the work surface. If using a pasta machine: Flatten 1 of the of the dough pieces between your hands or with a floured rolling pin until it forms a thick oval disk. Dust the disk, the roller, and your hands with additional flour. Flour a baking sheet to hold the rolled out finished pasta. With the roller on the widest setting, pass the pasta through the machine's rollers a few times until it is smooth. Fold the dough over into 1/3, and continue to pass through a few more times until the pasta is smooth again. Begin adjusting the pasta machine settings to become thinner, passing the dough through a few times at each setting. If rolling the pasta by hand: Flatten a dough piece into a thick oval disk with your hands. Flour a baking sheet for the rolled out finished pasta. Place the oval dough disk on a floured work surface, and sprinkle with additional flour. Begin rolling out the dough with a floured rolling pin working from the center of the dough outwards, constantly moving the dough and lifting it to make sure it's not sticking.
• To make Simple Tomato Sauce: In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, and garlic and cook until soft and golden brown. Add the basil and cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juices and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. With a potato masher, break up the tomatoes to achieve a sauce-like consistency. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve. Cook's Note: Tomato sauce will last 1 week in the refrigerator and up to 6 months in the freezer.

CHICKEN CANNELLONI

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute onion, peppers, garlic, celery and mushrooms in oil until onion is tender. Add tomato paste, tomatoes, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning and sugar; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes., Meanwhile, pound chicken breasts to 1/4-in. thickness. Combine ricotta cheese, green onions, Parmesan, parsley, pepper and remaining Italian seasoning; divide evenly and spoon on top of chicken breasts. Roll up; place seam side down in an 8-in. square baking dish. Spoon sauce over chicken., Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until a thermometer reads 170°. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese; let stand for 5 minutes. Serve with pasta if desired.

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.

CHICKEN SPINACH CANNELLONI PIE

Steps:

• Make the tomato sauce: in a 4 quart saucepan, heat the oil; saute onion for 3 minutes.
• Add in tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar, and basil; simmer the sauce, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
• Stir in parsley and cook for an additional 10 minutes; taste for seasoning, and add more salt and pepper, if needed.
• The sauce may be refrigerated for 2 days, or frozen for 2 months.
• Make the Parmesan Garlic Sauce: in a 3 quart saucepan, melt the butter, add the garlic, and saute for 1 minute to soften the garlic.
• Add in the flour and whisk until smooth; allow the flour to bubble, then add the milk slowly, whisking until the sauce is smooth and thick.
• Add in the salt, Tabasco, nutmeg, and cheese; whisk until the cheese is melted; taste and adjust seasonings, if needed.
• Refrigerate the sauce until ready to finish the pie.
• Make the Pie: in a big bowl, combine the spinach, chicken, and parsley.
• In another bowl, beat together the eggs, ricotta, ½ cup Parmesan, salt, and pepper.
• Add the chicken/spinach to the bowl; stir to combine; refrigerate for up to 8 hours before assembling the cannelloni.
• Preheat oven to 350°; spray a 13 x 9 inch ovenproof baking dish with cooking spray.
• Spoon ½ cup tomato sauce into the bottom of the baking dish; cover the sauce with lasagna noodle/s.
• Spread half of the cannelloni filling over the noodles.
• Cover with another layer of noodles; spread half of the Parmesan garlic sauce over the noodles, and stripe the white sauce with ½ cup of the tomato sauce.
• Cover with the remaining cannelloni filling; top with the remaining lasagna noodles.
• Cover with the remaining Parmesan sauce, and top with the remaining tomato sauce.
• Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese, and bake the pie for 45 minutes, until the cheese is golden and the pie is bubbling.
• Let the pie rest for 10 minutes before serving.

SPINACH AND RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• For the tomato sauce, heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for 1min. Add remaining sauce ingredients and some seasoning. Simmer for 30min, stirring occasionally and breaking up the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon, until thick.
• Meanwhile, for the filling, put the spinach into a colander in the sink and pour over a full kettle of just-boiled water to wilt (you may need to do this in batches). When cool enough to handle, lift up handfuls of spinach and firmly squeeze out excess moisture. Roughly chop then put into a large bowl. Mix in the ricotta, Parmesan, nutmeg and plenty of seasoning. Transfer mixture to a large piping bag fitted with a large plain nozzle (or snip a hole in the bottom).
• Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan) mark 6. To assemble, spread 1/2 the tomato sauce in the base of a 2.5 litre ovenproof serving dish, about 35 x 40cm. Pipe filling into each cannelloni tube and arrange in a single layer on top of the sauce. Top with the remaining sauce. Tear the mozzarella into strips and lay on top of the sauce.
• Cook in the oven for 30min, or until golden and bubbling. Serve with a crisp green salad.