An authentic Italian recipe from our kitchen to yours. Buon Appetito!
Ingredients for the Filling
- 9 - 12 ounces fresh pasta for lasagna or 1 box lasagna
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 pound spinach
- 1 large shallot
- 1/4 medium onion
- 4 cloves fresh garlic
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 medium bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/3 cup tomato puree
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup white wine
- Grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- Grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- Salt
Ingredients for the Sauce
- 1/4 cup carrots, sliced
- 1/2 cup spinach
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- Salt
Directions
1. Mince the garlic, shallot, onion and celery. Place them in a pan with the olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until the shallot, celery and onion begin to turn translucent. Add the white wine and simmer for 3 - 5 minutes. Once this mix has softened thoroughly, remove 1 generous tablespoon of the mixture to a sauce pan and set aside.
2. Add the ground beef to the pan. Using a fork, break up the meat into small, loose pieces. Once the meat has been broken up and has begun to brown, stir well to combine all ingredients.
3. Add the bay leaf, nutmeg and a generous pinch of salt to the pan. Stir the pan to combine, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add the tomato puree and 2/3 cup water to the pan. Stir well, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add the spinach to the pan. Stir constantly so the spinach cooks down evenly. Once cooked down, cover the pan and simmer another 5 minutes.
6. Place the sauce pan with the mixture of oil, garlic, onion and celery over low heat. Once simmering, add the sliced carrots and 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook for 5 - 7 minutes.
7. Remove the pan with the meat and spinach mixture from the heat. Add a generous sprinkle of Parmigiano and a light sprinkle of Romano cheese. Mix well to combine. Taste the mixture and add salt as needed. Let the filling cool well.
8. If there is quite a bit of liquid left in the pan with the filling, spoon 3 generous spoonfuls of the liquid into the sauce pan with the carrots.
9. Add the tomato puree to the carrots and stir well. If there is not enough cooking liquid left, add water to the pan as needed to thin the sauce. It should be a light sauce.
10. Add the spinach to the sauce, stirring constantly so the spinach will cook down. Once the spinach has cooked down, taste the sauce and add salt as needed.
11. Cover and simmer the sauce 5 - 7 minutes and then remove from the heat to cool.
12. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
13. Prepare the pasta for cannelloni according to the manufacturer's instructions.
14. Line an oven safe baking dish with parchment paper.
15. Spoon a generous spoonful or 2 of the remaining cooking liquid from the filling into the baking dish and spread over the parchment paper. If not enough liquid remains, use a generous spoonful or 2 from the sauce.
16. Lay one sheet of pasta onto a plate. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the meat and spinach filling onto the short end side of the pasta. Roll up the pasta and place the roll into the baking dish.
17. Continue step 16 until you have used all of the pasta. The cannelloni should only be baked in one layer. Use another baking dish if you have more cannelloni. If you have extra filling, add it to the sauce and mix well.
18. When all of the cannelloni are made, spoon the sauce mixture over the cannelloni, spreading the spinach and carrots evenly over the top of the cannelloni. Top with a generous sprinkle of Parmigiano.
19. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 30 minutes.
20. After 30 minutes, uncover the dish and bake another 10 minutes to brown the cheese.
21. Once the cheese has browned, remove the dish from the oven and let it cool for 10 - 15 minutes before serving.