Beef & Spinach Cannelloni Recipe

I have to say although Pasta is not one of my ‘must have’ dishes, I actually make it more for friends than myself – because it’s a sensational freezer friendly standby that can be produced at the shortest notice, and a safe bet because it’s one of those meals that both kids and grown ups will love!

There are 3 parts to this Beef & Spinach Cannelloni :

1. The Cannelloni Sauce – key to any good cannelloni! Make a lot and make it thinner than you think it should be, because the uncooked cannelloni tubes will soak up a lot of the liquid as it cooks.
2. The spinach and beef filling – I like to make it extra tasty by using beef stock cube for seasoning  or you can buy it in powder form too.
3. The cannelloni tubes  – these are sold uncooked in tube form, to be stuffed with filling then cooked.

There’s nothing tricky about the making part other than stuffing the cannelloni tubes which is inevitably a bit of a messy / fiddly affair. But years of cannelloni stuffing have taught me one thing – the fastest and easiest way to stuff cannelloni tubes is using a piping bag if you don’t have a piping bag, just use a ziplock bag and snip off the corner.

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4 from 3 votes

Beef & Spinach Cannelloni Recipe

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Course: Main Meal

Cuisine: Italian

Author: :Mr. Paul

Ingredients

• Filling
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• 500 g minced beef
• 250 g frozen spinach thawed
• 3 tablespoons tomato purée
• 125 g ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• Bechamel sauce
• 250 g milk
• 1 parsley sprig
• 5 peppercorns
• 30 g salted butter
• 1 tablespoon plain flour
• 125 g pouring or whipping cream
• Tomato sauce
• 425 g 15 oz tin tomato passata (puréed tomato)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 12 –15 instant cannelloni tubes
• 150 g grated mozzarella cheese
• 60 g grated parmesan cheese

DISCLAIMER

I recommend using the Metric measurements (instead of cups & spoons) for more accuracy and better results.

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).
• To make the filling, heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the onion and garlic; stir over low heat until onion is tender. Add the minced beef and brown well. Add spinach and tomato paste. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Now add the the ricotta, egg and oregano. Stir well into the beef mixture.
• To make the Bechamel sauce, place the milk, parsley and peppercorns in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat and cool for 10 minutes. Strain, discarding the peppercorns. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Gradually stir in the strained milk until smooth. Return to the heat and stir constantly over medium heat until the sauce boils and thickens. Reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Add cream and season.
• To make the tomato sauce, put all the ingredients in a pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Pipe the filling into cannelloni tubes. Spoon a little of the tomato sauce in the base of a large ovenproof dish. Arrange the cannelloni on top. Pour Bechamel sauce over the cannelloni, followed by the remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle the cheeses over the top. Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until golden

Have you tried this recipe?Please leave a comment below, or If you have any other questions or problems Leave me a message HERE

Category: Cuisine, Main Courses, Meat, Mediterranean, Pasta, Recipes