CANNELLONI RUSTICANA

Click here to see Mike make cannelloni

This is the signature dish at Chez B. I was first introduced to this form of cannelloni when I visited Italy in 1968. What sets this style apart is that the filling is encased in a "crepe" vice a "pasta" shell. I'll make a large batch of cannelloni 4 or 5 times a year by doubling the recipe below (makes about 43), then freeze it for later use. I have been doing this for at least 40 years and have made well over 3000 (that makes me the "Cannelloni King").

Feb 15, 2011 - updated Jun 15, 2019

Makes approximately 21-22 crepes

CREPES

  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 cups flour
  • 3 cups of milk, or more (lo fat or non fat will work fine - about a half quart).
  • 1/4 cup melted butter (half of a stick)

Slowly add the milk to the flour/salt mixture followed by the melted butter. For the best results the mixture should be very "liquidy", a consistency that resembles "eggnog", "soup", or even a bit thinner


Using a 1/4 measuring cup, pour that amount into a medium-hot, slightly oiled crepe pan, and immediately pick up the pan and "swirl" the batter so that it uniformily coats the bottom of the pan. Let sit for about a minute on a medium-heat burner then flip over to the other side. (A simple way to do this is to have a crepe pan plus a larger fry pan of any type heating on separate burner. Simply turn over the crepe pan when ready and drop the crepe onto the 2nd pan where the 2nd side heats for about another minute. Remove the crepe to a large sheet of wax or parchment paper and let cool. Repeat the process until the batter is gone.

FILLING

The wonderful thing about cannelloni is that you can stuff it with almost anything. But to stay close to the classic Tuscan style we use a mixture of essentially equal parts of italian sweet sausage, spinach and ricotta cheese. However, don't be timid about altering the ingredients or proportions. You could easily substitute ground veal, turkey or even crab meat for the sausage!

  • 3 large Italian Sweet Sausage (about 1/2 pound).
  • 1 small onion
  • 1 large bag of fresh chopped spinach.
  • 1 standard size tub of ricotta cheese (15 oz).
  • S&P to taste

Cook the sausage then chop it very finely..use a food processor if you have one. Very finely dice the onion and cook in the same pan used for the sausage earlier. No need to cook the spinach ... simply thaw it and drain any licquid. In a large bowl, combine the ground sausage, onions, spinach and ricotta cheese. Salt & Pepper to taste

Spoon out 2 tablespoons of the mixture onto the edge of one of the crepes, then roll it closed in a cigar shape. Repeat until all the crepes are filled.

At this point the finished cannelloni can be frozen. Either place 3 or 4 together and wrap with tin foil; or line a large tupperware container with layers of wax paper and loosely fill with cannelloni.

The frozen cannelloni can be reheated in the microwave (about 3 minutes), or oven for closer to 30 minutes at 350 degrees

CHEF'S NOTES:

Serve with a nice tomato sauce. A good choice is Susie's Tomato Sauce. Perhaps my favorite is to float several cannelloni over a bed of red sauce then top with a white sauce (bechemel or alfredo) and finish under the broiler (pictured above). Or for an even more exotic presentation, do a "Three Sauce" rendition by adding a tbsp or two of pesto to the top as pictured below. If you have some whole wheat flour in the pantry, try a 1:4 ratio (whole wheat to all purpose flour). This results in a very rich, darker and a bit denser crepe.

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