Veal And Spinach Cannelloni Food

CANNELLONI OR STUFFED SHELLS WITH VEAL AND SWEET SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Meanwhile, heat the EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the sausage and crumble to very small pieces. Then add the veal, brown and crumble. Add the sage, garlic, onions and some salt and pepper, and cook until tender. Separate the spinach with your fingertips and add to the skillet. Stir to heat through, then deglaze with the wine and remove from the heat.
• In a saucepot over medium heat, melt the butter, whisk in the flour and bring to a bubble. Whisk in the milk and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Thicken the sauce to coat the back of a spoon. Taste to adjust the seasoning and remove a ladle of sauce to combine with the egg yolks to temper them. Add the egg yolks to the sauce and stir in half of the fontina cheese and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Reduce the heat to low, or cover to keep warm.
• Salt the water, and cook the pasta to a chewy al dente, 6 to 7 minutes. Then drain and cool. Fill the tubes or shells with the meat filling using small spoon. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with one-quarter of the sauce, then arrange the shells and cover with the remaining sauce, then top with the remaining cheese. Refrigerate or freeze for a make-ahead meal.
• Bake from room temperature at 375 degrees F until brown and bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes.

VEAL RAGù CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF/gas 3.
• Peel and finely chop the onions, celery and 2 cloves of garlic. Cut the green part off the leeks (save for making stock or soup), then trim, wash and finely chop the white part. Peel the potatoes and chop into ½cm dice. Tie the thyme sprigs together.
• Melt half the butter in a large pan on a low heat with 1 tablespoon of oil, then add the onions, garlic, celery, leeks, potatoes, bay leaves and thyme. Cover and sweat down for 15 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally.
• Add all the mince to the pan, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Turn the heat up to medium-high and cook for 10 more minutes, or until the mince is browned all over, stirring occasionally.
• Pour in the wine, let it bubble and boil away, then finely grate in half the nutmeg. Stir in the flour for 1 minute, then pour in the milk. Season with sea salt and black pepper, cover with a scrunched-up sheet of wet greaseproof paper and transfer to the oven for 2 hours, or until thickened and beautifully tender.
• At this stage, the ragù might look like it's split a little, but this is actually what we're looking for - the milk in the sauce creates amazing ricotta-like curds as it cooks.
• Meanwhile, place a large heatproof baking dish on a medium heat with 2 tablespoons of oil and the remaining butter. Peel, finely chop and add the remaining garlic, along with the chilli flakes, nettles (leaves only - wear gloves to protect your hands while you prep) and spinach - you'll need to work in batches. Cook for 10 minutes, or until softened.
• Allow to cool, then finely chop and return to the dish, spreading evenly over the base. Once done, divide the ragù in two, freezing one half for another day, once cool.
• Carefully drain the liquid from the remaining ragù into a bowl through a coarse sieve. Return the ragù to the pan, fish out and discard the thyme stalks and bay, then grate in half the cheese and stir well.
• Turn the oven up to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.
• Use a piping bag or teaspoon to stuff the cannelloni tubes with the ragù, then arrange on top of the greens. Pour the sieved liquid over the top and grate over the remaining cheese. Trim and finely slice the mushrooms and scatter over the cannelloni.
• Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of oil, then bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. For added colour, flash the dish under the grill for 5 minutes. Importantly, let it stand for 30 minutes before serving. Delicious with a seasonal salad for added crunch.

CANNELLONI FLORENTINE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain, separate shells, and set aside.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). In a 9 x 13 baking dish, combine veal, carrots, celery, chopped half onion and spinach. Stir well. Stir in 1 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 2 tablespoons olive oil and white wine. Place in oven and roast until veal is brown and vegetables are soft, 30 to 40 minutes. Stir frequently. If meat begins to smoke, reduce heat to 400 degrees (200 degrees C).
• Let meat mixture cool 15 minutes, then process in food processor until finely chopped. Return to pan and stir in cream, Roma tomatoes, Parmesan, Italian seasoning and 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil. Bake 20 minutes more. Remove from oven and let cool.
• While meat mixture is cooling enough to handle, make tomato sauce. Puree canned tomatoes with their juice in food processor until smooth. In large skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons virgin olive oil. Saute garlic and chopped onion until soft. Stir in pureed tomato, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, or until no longer watery. Add four chopped basil leaves and cook 1 minute more.
• Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Stuff pasta shells with cooled meat mixture, 2 to 3 tablespoons per shell. Place shells in clean 9 x 13 baking dish. Pour tomato sauce over shells and bake 20 minutes, or until sauce is bubbly.

CANNELLONI

Steps:

• First make the stuffing. In a deep skillet cook the onion, celery and carrot in the olive oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes, or until softened. Add the garlic and cook the mixture, stirring, 1 minute. Add the veal, pork and beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink. Add the wine, reduce for 1 minute and stir in the broth. Add the herbs, bay leaf and salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer, covered, 15 minutes. Uncover and reduce until almost dry. Discard bay leaf. Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool. Mix in egg yolks until well combined. Meanwhile, in a saucepan set over moderately low heat melt the butter, add the flour and whisk the mixture for 2 minutes. Add the milk, nutmeg and salt and pepper and simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until thickened. Stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan and the parsley. In a bowl combine the meat mixture with the cheese and parsley sauce. Make the tomato sauce and stir in the heavy cream.
• Now, make the pasta. Cut the dough crosswise into 5-inch lengths. In a pot of boiling salted water cook the noodles, a few at a time, for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, or until they are al dente, transferring them as they are cooked to a bowl of cold water. Spread the noodles in one layer on paper towels to drain. Spoon 1/4 cup of the filling down the center of one noodle, roll the noodle to enclose the filing, and transfer the cannelloni, seam side down, to a well-buttered gratin dish.Continue to make cannelloni with the remaining noodles and filling in the same manner, arranging them in one layer. Ladle the sauce over the cannelloni and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes or until bubbling. Run under the broiler about 4 inches from the heat, for 2 minutes, or until golden.

VEAL AND SPINACH CANNELLONI

Steps:

• 1 Prepare the béchamel sauce. 2 Put the spinach in a large pot over medium heat with 1/4 cup of water. Cover and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until wilted and tender. Drain and cool. Wrap the spinach in a lint-free cloth and squeeze out as much water as possible. Finely chop the spinach. 3 In a large skillet, melt the butter over mediumlow heat. Add the veal, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is very tender, about 1 hour. If the meat becomes dry, add a little water. Let cool. On a cutting board with a large knife, or in a food processor, chop the mixture very fine. Scrape the meat and spinach into a bowl and add 1 cup of the béchamel and 1 cup of the Parmigiano. Mix well and taste for seasoning. 4 Meanwhile, prepare the pasta. Lay out some lint-free kitchen towels on a flat surface. Have ready a large bowl of cold water. Bring about 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons of salt. Add the pasta squares a few pieces at a time. Cook the pasta until tender but slightly underdone. Scoop the pasta out of the water and place it in the cold water. When cool enough to handle, lay the pasta sheets out flat on the towels, which can be stacked one on top of the other. Continue cooking and cooling the remaining pasta in the same way. 5 Spoon half of the remaining béchamel in a thin layer in a large baking pan. Spread about two tablespoons of the filling on one end of each pasta square and roll up, starting from the filled end. Place the pasta roll seam-side down in the prepared pan. Repeat with the remaining pasta and filling, arranging the rolls close together in the pan. Spoon on the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of Parmigiano. (Can be made up to 24 hours in advance. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Remove from the refrigerator about 1 hour before baking.) 6 Place a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake 30 minutes or until the cannelloni are heated through and lightly golden. Serve hot. From "1,000 Italian Recipes." Copyright 2004 by Michele Scicolone. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

VEAL SALTIMBOCCA WITH SPINACH & FONTINA CHEESE

Steps:

• Pound veal cutlets between two sheets of wax paper. Lightly, salt and pepper both sides.
• In large frying pan, melt 2 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium/high heat. Working in batches, dredge veal in flour and cook 1 to 2 minutes per side or until lightly browned on bottom only. (adding more butter/oil as necessary) Remove from heat and onto platter (keeping unused oil in pan).
• Add garlic and mushrooms to pan and saute. Add 2 tablespoons flour and combine. Add wine and beef base. Whisk in 2 tablespoons butter.
• Layer veal with spinach leaves, prosciutto, then cheese slices (cut to fit) on each cutlet. Return veal to pan and cook until cheese melts on top.
• Pour mushrooms and sauce over veal.
• Garnish with parsley and serve.