Cannelloni

Cannelloni al Forno

A festive baked pasta from Italy: fresh pasta sheets wrapped around a rich ragù and ricotta filling, blanketed in tomato sauce and béchamel, then baked until golden and bubbling.

Prep

45 min

Cook

40 min

Total

85 min

Serves

6

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •300 g (10½ oz) 00 flour, or 200 g / 7 oz plain flour plus 100 g / 3½ oz fine semolina
• •3 whole (3 large) eggs
• •1 pinch salt
• •300 g (10½ oz) beef and pork mince, mixed, 50/50 beef and pork; pancetta optional
• •1 whole (1 medium) onion, finely diced
• •1 stalk celery, finely diced
• •1 whole (1 small) carrot, finely diced, soffritto base
• •2 cloves garlic, minced
• •60 ml (¼ cup) dry white wine
• •400 g (14 oz) passata (tomato purée), or crushed San Marzano tomatoes
• •1 tsp tomato concentrate
• •1 leaf bay leaf
• •250 g (9 oz) ricotta, well-drained; sheep's milk ricotta preferred
• •60 g (½ cup grated) Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated, plus extra for topping
• •1 whole (1 large) egg yolk
• •60 g (2 oz) spinach, cooked and squeezed dry, optional half-and-half with the meat
• •1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• •500 ml (2 cups) whole milk, for béchamel
• •40 g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter, for béchamel
• •40 g (⅓ cup) plain flour, for béchamel
• •1 pinch white pepper and grated nutmeg, for béchamel
• •80 g (¾ cup grated) mozzarella or fontina, diced, optional, for topping
• •salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• •2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Steps

1. 1 Make the pasta dough: mound the flour and semolina (if using) on a work surface, make a well, add the eggs and a pinch of salt. Knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic, wrap in cling film and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. 2 While the dough rests, make the ragù: warm the olive oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add onion, celery and carrot and sweat for 6–8 minutes until soft and translucent; stir in the garlic for 30 seconds.
3. 3 Add the minced meat, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, and brown well — about 8 minutes. Pour in the wine and let it evaporate completely, 2–3 minutes.
4. 4 Stir in the passata, tomato concentrate and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper, partially cover and simmer gently for 30–40 minutes, until thick and richly flavored. The meat must reach a safe internal temperature of 75 °C / 165 °F throughout and stay there for at least 1 minute. Discard the bay leaf and let the ragù cool completely.
5. 5 Make the béchamel: melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute without browning. Off the heat, whisk in the milk a little at a time to avoid lumps. Return to the heat, bring just to a simmer and cook 2 minutes until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Season with salt, white pepper and a pinch of nutmeg; cover with cling film touching the surface to prevent a skin.
6. 6 Make the filling: combine the cooled ragù with the ricotta, egg yolk, Parmigiano, nutmeg and the spinach if using. Taste and adjust seasoning — the filling should be well salted since it seasons the pasta.
7. 7 Roll the pasta: cut the rested dough into quarters and feed through a pasta machine (or roll by hand) from the widest setting down to about 1.5 mm / 1/16 inch. Cut the sheets into rectangles roughly 10 × 12 cm / 4 × 5 inches. Blanch the sheets, a few at a time, in plenty of salted boiling water for 20–30 seconds, then refresh in cold water and lay flat on a clean tea towel.
8. 8 Assemble: spread a thin layer of tomato sauce (use about a quarter of the ragù or passata) on the base of a 22 × 30 cm / 9 × 12 inch baking dish. Place a generous tablespoon of filling along the short edge of each pasta rectangle and roll up tightly. Lay the cannelloni seam-side down in snug rows.
9. 9 Top the cannelloni with the béchamel, spoon the remaining tomato sauce over the top (the classic look has a marbled red-and-white top), scatter with the diced mozzarella or fontina and a generous shower of grated Parmigiano.
10. 10 Bake in a preheated oven at 200 °C / 400 °F (conventional) or 180 °C / 375 °F (fan) for 25–30 minutes, until the surface is deeply golden, the sauces are bubbling around the edges and an instant-read thermometer pushed into the centre of the dish reads at least 75 °C / 165 °F. Rest 5–10 minutes before serving so the filling sets.