Preparation time : 40 minutes
Cooking time : 1 hour
Serves : 8-10 members
Description
Comfort food is what I needed. As mentioned earlier to me Italian cuisine some how relate’s a lot to romance. So it’s going to be an Italian dish celebration said my mind. How can I say no to it. Now the next big thing in mind.. Simple and quick or elaborate and long dish. Well simple and easy always seems a cheat’s way to me so of course it’s got be elaborate and long dish to make. Next what do I sizzle up ?? Just went through my picture gallery for ideas and there it was an image of a cannelloni made in a different way. I started with great enthusiasm and went on and on with too many things to be done but once I started to assemble the dish.. The warmth of the dish was felt and the elaborate long process just melted away. Placed it in the oven to bake. I could not wait to see and taste the dish. The longest forty minutes of my life I can say. Removed it from the oven and had to wait for it to cool down a bit. The dish looked deep and cozy oozing out comfortableness as I wanted. Served it and hubby dear goes on to ask me what is this? My mind went blank as I didn’t think of a name for this dish. With the knife in my hand all ready to cut and serve, the first thing that came to my mind was a cake. So I just told its cannelloni savoury cake. Wow I just named my dish and cut her as well to celebrate it. Ate her too.. All I needed now was a big warm hug for the efforts put in to create her. That’s a pretty cool way to celebrate with warmth and coziness .. Right ??
Step 1 – cheese sauce
Ingredients for cheese sauce
Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Milk | 2 cups |
| Refined flour | 2 tablespoons |
| 1 tbsp butter | 1 tablespoon |
| Salt | to taste |
| Cheese slice | 4 slices |
| Chilli flakes | to taste |
| White pepper | to taste |
| Mixed dried herbs( oregano , thyme ,rosemary , dill , basil ) | a pinch of each |
Method for the white sauce
- Heat and Melt butter, add refined flour, saute a little and add the milk very gradually, stirring vigorously all the time.
- Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes, add the salt, white pepper, chilly flakes dried herbs and cheese slice.
- Mix well and boil till a thick gooey saucy consistency is obtained.
- Add a little more milk if the sauce gets too thick.
Step 2 – Marinara Sauce
Ingredients for Marinara sauce
Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Chopped onion | 3/4 cup |
| Garlic minced | 5 flakes |
| Olive oil | 4 tablespoons |
| Whole peeled tomatoes | 3/4 kg , ( blanch whole tomatoes in hot water and peel the skins ) , ( I blitzed the peeled tomatoes to a corse pulp ) |
| Salt | to taste |
| Sugar | 1 teaspoon |
| Bay leaf | 1 |
| Tomato paste / tomato sauce | 1 tablespoon |
| Dried basil | 3/4 teaspoon |
| Ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Red chilli powder | 1 teaspoon ( for the Indian pallet ) |
Method
- Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent.
- Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer.
- Stir in tomato paste, basil and 1/2 teaspoon pepper powder.
- Cook until sauce is thick and gooey. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from heat.
Step 3 – Chicken filling
Ingredients for Chicken filling
Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Boneless chicken | 1/4 kg |
| Garlic paste | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Salt | to taste |
| Onions | 5 big chopped |
| Green chillies | 4 chopped |
| Mixed vegetables | carrots , beans , cabbage , green peas chopped and boiled in water with salt |
| Dried basil + oregano | 1/4 teaspoon |
| Pepper powder | to taste |
| Oil | 2 tablespoons |
Method for chicken filling
- Pressure cook cleaned chicken, salt and garlic paste for one whistle. Bring to boil and Reduce the water. Cool completely and shred the chicken to treads ( I run it in the food processor for a second ).
- Heat oil in a non stick pan. Add onions and fry to translucent. Add green chilies, boiled chopped mixed vegetables, shredded chicken, dry basil and oregano, salt and pepper to taste.
- Mix well and lower the flame and keep stirring for 3 minutes letting all the flavours infuse together. Remove from heat, cool and set aside.
Step 4 – Cannelloni
Ingredients for Cannelloni
Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Cannelloni shells | 1 packet store bought |
Method
- Cook the cannelloni shells according to packet instructions and keep aside.
Step 5 – how to proceed
Other ingredients
Ingredients | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Egg | 1 whole |
| Salt + pepper + red chili flakes | to taste |
| Coriander leaves | few chopped |
| Grated cheese | 1/4 cup |
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. Grease a spring form generously with butter.
- Beat egg with pepper, salt, chilly flakes, chopped coriander leaves and 2 teaspoon of grated cheese.
- Fill each cooked cannelloni shell with the chicken filling.
- Spread two ladles of white cheese sauce over the greased spring form tin. Top it with two ladles of marinara sauce and spread evenly.
- Pour the egg mix and spread evenly.
- Stack the filled cannelloni shells in a horizontal manner tightly.
- Top with two ladles or more of marinara and spread evenly. Pour two ladles or more of white cheese sauce and spread evenly.
- Sprinkle with the remaining cheese on top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for forty minutes. Remove and bring cool for five minutes. Cut and Serve hot.
