What's Cooking Wednesday-Issue 11

Stuffed Cannelloni with Bolognese
(from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Slow Cooker)

So when I actually planned ahead on meals, I found this bolognese sauce that made a double batch so I could freeze the other half for later (the cook book has a section called Make More to Store and about 4 or 5 recipes you can use the bolognese sauce for). I thawed the leftover sauce to make this cannelloni which I found much better than the original fettucine bolognese I made.

The Bolognese (makes 12 cups sauce)

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
2 oz Pancetta, chopped (had to substitute bacon)
2 small yellow onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
3 lbs ground beef
2 cups beef broth
1 1/2 cup dry red wine
1 - 28oz can crushed plum tomatoes
1/2 cup milk
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions
In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the pancetta and sauté until it begins to render its fat, about 1 minute. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until it is no longer red, about 7 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker. Add the broth and wine to the pan and raise the heat to high. Bring to a boil and deglaze the pan, stirring to scrape up the browned bits on he pan bottom. Pour the liquid into the slow cooker along with the tomatoes and stir to combine.

Cover and cook the sauce on the high-heat setting for 4 hours or the low-heat setting for 8 hours. Add the milk, stirring to combine. Cover and continue cooking for 20 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

The Cannelloni

Ingredients
4 cups bolognese sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 lb cannelloni pasta
1 1/2 lbs baby spinach, coarsely chopped
3 cups fresh ricotta
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 2 tbsp salt and the pasta. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until not quite al dente, about 2 minutes less than the package directions. Drain the pasta, rinse under cool water to prevent sticking, and set aside.

Put the spinach and 1/2 cup water in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain, pressing on the spinach with the back of a large spoon to remove as much water as possible. In a large bowl, combine the spinach, ricotta, egg yolks, nutmeg, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and half of the Parmesan. Blend well with a wooden spoon.

Preheat the oven to 375˚. Spread the bottom of a 10-by-12-inch baking dish with a large spoonful of the bolognese sauce. Using a teaspoon, stuff the cannelloni with the spinach filling. Place the stuffed pasta in the dish and spoon the sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until bubbly and nicely coloured, about 10 minutes longer. Remove the cannelloni from the oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Tip: To stuff cannelloni easily, spoon the filling into a large, heavy-duty resealable plastic bag. Push the filling down into one corner of the bag, forcing out any air at the same time. Twist the bag several times where the filling ends. Then, snip off the corner of the bag with scissors and squeeze the filling through the hole into the cannelloni.

Craig and I loved this recipe. The boys did really well eating the noodles and Addison tried everything. Given that they had polished off a bag of Tostitos, a couple cookies and grapes while I was making this recipe, I'm not surprised that they didn't each much of it!



Sorry for the blurry picture! Visit Shan's blog for more great What's Cooking Wednesday recipes.