Cannelloni Pasta with Spinach and Ricotta Cheese

Make your holiday dinner special with this classic Italian cannelloni pasta stuffed with creamy spinach, delicate ricotta and rich besciamella sauce. 

Your family and dinner guests will be wowed by this classic and traditional Italian primo piatto, perfect for your holiday meal: cannelloni pasta stuffed with delicate ricotta cheese and fresh, organic baby spinach.
And today I will share you my secret to make this cannelloni creamier than (maybe) you have ever eaten. You are probably familiar with besciamella, right? The heavenly creamy, rich, white sauce, used in lasagna and other oven baked pasta. I not only use besciamella sauce to cover the cannelloni before baking them, but I make some extra and add it to the ricotta and spinach filling. The inside of each cannellone will be soft and moist, creamy and cheesy. Yes! So much better this way.
Happy Holidays!

Ingredients: to make around 16 cannelloni, serving 4-5

• around 16 cannelloni pasta, or lasagna pasta (a little less than one box)
• 12 oz (340 gr) fresh, organic baby spinach
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
• 10 oz (280 gr) of ricotta cheese (I used whole milk)
• 1 egg
• around 5 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese (divieded)
• salt

for the besciamella sauce:

• 3.5 cups (825 ml) milk
• 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup (75 gr) of all-purpose flour
• salt, nutmeg

Preparation time: one hour
Directions:

1. Simmer the spinach in slightly salted water for about 5 minutes.

2. Prepare the besciamella sauce using the quantities above and following this recipe
3. Drain well the spinach and cut in pieces. In a pan, saute' the garlic cut in slices with one tablespoon of butter. Add the drained spinach and salt to taste if necessary. Saute' for a couple of minutes, to remove the extra water and give the butter-garlicky flavor to the spinach.

4. In a bowl, mix together the spinach (I removed the garlic) with the ricotta cheese, the egg, and around 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese. Stir in one cup of besciamella sauce.

5. Preheat the oven to 375º F (190º C). Drizzle a couple of tablespoons of besciamella sauce on the bottom of a baking pan. Using a small spoon or a piping bag, fill the cannelloni pasta with the ricotta and spinach filling, and place them on the baking dish. It might get messy, but that's not a problem. Everything will be covered up with white sauce. You can always make your piping bag using wax paper or a sandwich bag, with one corner cut.

6. Cover the cannelloni with the remaining besciamella sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake covered for 10 minutes. Uncover and finish cooking for 15 more minutes, until the cheese on top is melted and golden, and the pasta is fully cooked.

Serve hot! Buon appetito

Traditional Italian Lasagna with Bolognese Sauce

In this traditional Italian lasagna, the savory bolognese sauce and the creamy besciamella come together in a perfectly cheesy, meaty  and saucy dish. So yummy!

Now that you have learned from my last post how to make the Italian ragu' alla bolognese, here is the next recipe you will want to know For sure! Traditional lasagna with bolognese sauce.
This classic Italian oven-baked pasta is unmatchable. Don't get scared by the long list of ingredients. It is not hard to prepare! But it can be a bit time consuming. No worries though, all the time spent on this is well worth your while!
You will need to prepare the bolognese sauce first,which takes at least an hour, and then the besciamella (white) sauce, which is much faster. When these sauces are ready, you will just juggle all the ingredients, add some cheese and pasta at the right time, and end up with the perfect lasagna. The creamy and soft besciamella together with the flavorful and savory bolognese sauce will make this lasagna to die for. No ricotta cheese is needed, only lots of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Here is a step-by-step recipe:


Ingredients: to make 13 x 9 inch lasagna.
For the Bolognese sauce: to make about 6 cups (1.5 quart)

• half onion
• 1 small carrot (or 6 baby carrots)
• 1 small celery stalk
• 1 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 lb of ground beef
• 1/2 lb of ground pork
• 1 can  of 28 oz crushed tomatoes (I used San Marzano)
• 3/4 cup of white wine
• 1 rosemary sprig
• 1 whole clove (optional)
• salt

For the besciamella sauce: 

• 6 cups of milk
• 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter 
• 1.25 cup of all-purpose flour
• salt to taste
• 1/3 teaspoon of grated nutmeg

Additional ingredients:

• about 16 oz mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup of Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 box of oven-ready lasagna pasta - I ended up needing 2 extra lasagna sheets from another box.. I use Barilla

Preparation time: about 2 hours
Directions:
Step 1: Start by preparing the bolognese sauce following this recipe, using the quantities listed above.You can always prepare this ahead of time and refrigerate (or freeze).
Step 2: When there are about 15 minutes left before the bolognese sauce is ready, prepare the besciamella sauce following this recipe. using the quantities listed above.
Step 3: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and start assembling the lasagna. In an oven pan, add a couple of tablespoons of besciamella for the bottom, add a layer of pasta, topped with  some bolognese sauce (about 1.5 cups), about one forth of the mozzarella, and some besciamella.

Step 4: Repeat the same layers three more times (if you can!): pasta, bolognese sauce, besciamella and mozzarella. Then on top (the last layer): only pasta, besciamella and all the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with small pieces of butter.

Step 5: Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. Move the pan to the higher part of the oven, so that the Parmesan cheese melts and forms a nice golden layer.

Step 6: Let cool down for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving. This will allow the besciamella sauce to set a little, and not run off the plate making the lasagne too soft. You can also prepare the lasagna ahead of time, and warm it up (really hot!!) before serving. In this case you don't need to wait before cutting and serving.

Buon Appetito!

Lasagne with Radicchio and Speck

Here is the perfect dish for a special dinner. You will be sure to impress your guests with this lasagna with radicchio and speck!

Last night I felt like cooking something a little special, which takes a bit longer to prepare, but it's well worth the effort.This is a great dish to cook for guests. You will definitely hear lots of "oohs" and "aahs" and especially "mmms". Ready to impress everybody with this deliciously Italian lasagna?!?

You can prepare it in advance and reheat it in the oven at the last minute. This will give you more time to mingle with the guests while sipping your wine, rather then spending all your time in the kitchen cooking, and missing out on all the fun.

Radicchio and speck are both ingredients that are not as common here as in Italy.

Radicchio is a leafy vegetable, with white-veined red leaves. It has a spicy and slightly bitter taste. It can be used row in a salad, or cooked and used in many different recipes. It comes in two varieties. The first is round about the size of a grapefruit, as shown in my picture. This is easier to find - I bought mine at my local Ralphs. The other variety is the radicchio of Treviso, which has a more elongated shapes, similar to the Belgian endive. Both can be used in this recipe.

Speck is a smoked prosciutto, native to Alto Adige, a region of Northern Italy. As you see in the picture, it looks similar to a prosciutto, a little darker in color, but with a unique taste and delicate aroma. This is a little harder to find. My local Whole Foods used to sell it, but no longer does. If you live in the Los Angeles area, you can find it at Guidi Marcello, in Santa Monica.

In this recipe, you could substitute speck with prosciutto or pancetta. The result will still be excellent.

Here is the recipe:                                                                      Printable Recipe

Ingredients: Pan measuring 8 x 11 in. Serving around 6 people - leftovers are always great!

• 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 medium minced onion
• 1 radicchio (shown in picture)
• 6 oz of speck
• about 12 oz of mozzarella cheese (shredded or in cut in small pieces)
• 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 box of oven-ready lasagna pasta (Barilla)
• salt to taste

For the besciamella (white) sauce :

• 4 cups of whole milk
• 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter (1/4 stick)
• 3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
• about 3/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Preparation time: 45 minutes to prepare, plus 45 minutes to bake

Directions:

Step 1: In a large skillet saute' the chopped onion in the olive oil. Cook for a few minutes over medium heat. Add the radicchio sliced in thin stripes. Sprinkle with salt and let simmer over medium heat until soft, about 15 minutes.

Step 2: While the radicchio cooks, you can start with the besciamella sauce as shown in my recipe.
Cut  the speck in small strips and add it to the radicchio. Mix well and let cook for a couple of more minutes.

Step 3: As soon as the besciamella is cooked, we are ready to assemble the lasagna.

Start with a little bit of besciamella at the bottom of a rectangular baking dish - I used a 8x11 inch baking pan. 

Arrange the noodles flat, break them if necessary. Note, the Barilla lasagna is oven ready, so the noodles don't need to go in boiling water - so much easier to work with!

Over the noodle, spread about 1/4 of the radicchio with speck. You don't need to completely cover the pasta, just spread it around evenly.

Top with 1/4 of the mozzarella and a bit of the besciamella (about 1/5)

Repeat the layers a few more times: lasagna, radicchio/speck, mozzarella and besciamella.

End with lasagna pasta and only besciamella  and the Parmesan cheese.

You should be able to obtain 4 to 5 layers, if the pan is deep enough. The trick is to be able to use all the ingredients but not finished them before the end of the layering - especially besciamella. You need to cover the top completely with besciamella!

Step 4: Cover with foil and cook in the over for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Uncover and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes. You want the Parmesan cheese to melt and make a nice golden top. Increase the temperature and/or move the pan to the upper part of the oven if needed.

Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving. Mmm . . . Absolutely delizioso !

 Now, I want to here all your guests' comments !