Italian Sausage Cannelloni Recipes

ITALIAN BAKED CANNELLONI

Steps:

• In a large skillet over medium heat, warm oil and saute ground beef with the onion, sage and rosemary; cook until meat is evenly browned and crumbly. Drain fat. Add salt and 1/2 cup white wine; cook until wine is evaporated. Set mixture aside.
• To make the Bechamel sauce: Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir until well incorporated. Stir in milk and bring to a slow boil until mixture thickens. Remove sauce from the heat. In a steady stream, pour the bechamel in to the beaten egg yolks, whisking constantly. Stir the sauce into the meat mixture. Stir in the cubed mozzarella.
• In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter and saute onion until soft and translucent. Add 1/2 cup white wine and let it cook down to evaporate; add stewed tomatoes and salt. Mix well; simmer for 15 minutes.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, a few at a time, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; using a slotted spoon, remove immediately to a pot filled with cold water. Lift pasta out with slotted spoon and arrange on a flat surface.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Spoon a line of filling into each shell, starting from one end and using your finger to push the filling inside of each shell. Place cannelloni in prepared baking dish and cover with tomato sauce mixture.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until heated through; when finished baking, allow to stand for 5 minutes and serve.

SAUSAGE AND RICOTTA BAKED CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Béchamel:
• Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking occasionally, until mixture smells slightly nutty, about 3 minutes. Whisk in milk, then increase heat to medium-high, and still whisking constantly, bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook just until thick and no longer floury tasting, 8-10 minutes. Add Parmesan and whisk until melted, then whisk in cayenne and nutmeg; season with salt. Cover béchamel and keep warm until ready to use.
• Do Ahead: Béchamel can be made 3 days ahead. Let cool; cover and chill. Reheat over medium-low, whisking constantly and adding a splash of water if needed to loosen.
• Assembly
• Remove ribs and stems from Swiss chard leaves and thinly slice. Tear leaves into large pieces. Combine oil and sausage with Swiss chard ribs and stems in a large skillet and set over medium-high heat. Cook, breaking up sausage with a heatproof rubber spatula or wooden spoon into small pieces, until sausage is almost cooked through, 5-7 minutes.
• Add Swiss chard leaves to skillet a handful at a time, tossing and letting them wilt slightly between additions, until all the leaves have been added. Cook, reducing heat as needed (liquid should be bubbling slightly at this point), until liquid is almost completely evaporated (it's important to dry out the Swiss chard here so the filling isn't soggy), about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Let cool 5 minutes, then stir in ricotta. Season filling with salt.
• If using pasta sheets, cook in a pot of boiling salted water 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl of cold water. Lay out a row of pasta sheets on a rimmed baking sheet (don't overlap), then top with a sheet of waxed or parchment paper. Repeat with remaining pasta sheets, placing sheets of paper between each layer.
• If using shells, cook in a pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, just until very al dente, about 3 minutes less than package instructions; rinse under cold water to cool quickly.
• Preheat oven to 375°F. Spread half of béchamel into a 13x9" baking dish. If using pasta sheets, lay out a sheet on a clean surface with a short end facing you. Spoon a heaping ¼-cupful of filling so it runs all the way down the center. Roll pasta around filling to create a 1 1/4"-diameter tube (the pasta will overlap quite a bit). Repeat with remaining pasta sheets, arranging in baking dish as you go to create 2 rows. If using shells, spoon a heaping tablespoonful of filling into each shell and nestle next to each other to create rows (you'll have about 5 rows of 6 shells each). Spread remaining béchamel over cannelloni, then marinara sauce. Top with Parmesan.
• Bake cannelloni until edges of pasta are lightly browned and sauce is bubbling around edges of pan, 30-40 minutes.
• Do Ahead: Filling can be made 2 days ahead. Let cool completely, then cover and chill.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE SOUP WITH CANNELLINI BEANS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage, onion, and garlic; cook and stir until sausage is browned and crumbly and onion is translucent, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Pour beef stock into the pan and bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits of food off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add water and bouillon cubes.
• Add tomato sauce, cannellini beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, green beans, diced tomatoes with juice, carrots, tomato paste, soup mix, cabbage, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, pepper, and salt. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add shells and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 9 minutes. Drain.
• After soup has cooked for 40 minutes, add cooked shells. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls and top with shredded Parmesan cheese.

CREAMY SAUSAGE CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the onion for 3-4 mins over a medium-high heat. Add the sausage chunks and cook for another 5 mins to brown all over. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min before stirring in the cream, mustard, chilli flakes and seasoning. Cook for another 2 mins, then stir in the basil.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/ gas 6. Divide the sausage chunks and some sauce between the lasagne sheets and roll each one up. Arrange in a casserole dish, spoon over the remaining sauce, then top with the mozzarella. You can freeze the dish at this point. If freezing, defrost fully before cooking. Bake in the oven for 20 mins until the pasta is cooked and the mozzarella gooey and crisp at the edges.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE, SPINACH, AND RICOTTA CANNELLONI

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and saute the onion until fragrant and translucent. Add the Italian sausage meat, breaking it up with the back of a wooden spoon and brown it until no longer pink, about 10 to 12 minutes. Drain the excess fat from the sausage meat, and set aside to cool.
• In a large mixing bowl stir together the drained and squeeze-dried spinach, ricotta, 1 1/2 cups Parmesan, eggs, cooled Italian sausage and onion mixture, salt, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
• Place the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the fresh pasta rectangles for 1 minute and remove with a slotted spatula. Set aside.
• In a 9 by 13-inch baking dish, spread 2 cups tomato sauce. Working with 1 pasta rectangle at a time, spread 6 tablespoons filling along one edge and roll the pasta sheet up tightly, leaving the ends open. Repeat until you have 8 cannelloni.
• Arrange the prepared cannelloni, seam-side down, in a single layer in the baking dish. Spoon the remaining 2 cups tomato sauce evenly over the cannelloni. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup grated Parmesan over top.
• Bake the cannelloni for 20 minutes and let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.
• Serve the cannelloni with extra Tomato Sauce from the baking dish and garnish with fresh basil.
• Fresh Pasta Dough:
• Mound the flour on a clean work surface. Hollow out the center making a well in the middle of the flour with steep sides.
• Break the eggs into the well. Add the salt, and olive oil to the hollow center and gently mix together with a fork. Gradually start incorporating the flour by pulling in the flour from the sides of the well. As you incorporate more of the flour, the dough will start to take shape.
• With your hands or a bench scraper continue working the dough until it comes together. If the dough is too dry, add a little water; if too wet or sticky, add a little flour.
• Begin kneading the dough and keep kneading until it becomes smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. At this point, set the dough aside, cover it with plastic, and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. You can store the dough in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, but allow it to return to room temperature before rolling it out.
• Divide the pasta dough into 4 even sections. Keep each section covered with plastic wrap or a clean towel while you work with each one. Flour the dough, the rollers of a pasta roller (or your rolling pin), your hands, and the work surface.
• If using a pasta machine:
• Flatten 1 of the of the dough pieces between your hands or with a floured rolling pin until it forms a thick oval disk. Dust the disk, the roller, and your hands with additional flour. Flour a baking sheet to hold the rolled out finished pasta.
• With the roller on the widest setting, pass the pasta through the machine's rollers a few times until it is smooth. Fold the dough over into 1/3, and continue to pass through a few more times until the pasta is smooth again. Begin adjusting the pasta machine settings to become thinner, passing the dough through a few times at each setting.
• If rolling the pasta by hand:
• Flatten a dough piece into a thick oval disk with your hands. Flour a baking sheet for the rolled out finished pasta. Place the oval dough disk on a floured work surface, and sprinkle with additional flour. Begin rolling out the dough with a floured rolling pin working from the center of the dough outwards, constantly moving the dough and lifting it to make sure it's not sticking.
• Simple Tomato Sauce:
• In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, and garlic and cook until soft and golden brown. Add the basil and cook for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Add the canned tomatoes with their juices and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. With a potato masher, break up the tomatoes to achieve a sauce-like consistency.
• Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve.
• Cook's Note:
• Tomato sauce will last 1 week in the refrigerator and up to 6 months in the freezer.

ITALIAN SAUSAGE SPINACH CANNELLONI

Steps:

• Cook manicotti according to package directions; drain. Set aside. (Or don't and increase the sauce measurements. If increasing the sauce measurements you may want to use a roaster or a deeper pan.).
• To prepare tomato sauce: In Dutch oven (or large heavy saucepan) add olive oil and 1 cup onions. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until onions are soft (5-8 minutes). Add tomatoes, reserved juice, and all remaining sauce ingredients (tomato paste, basil, sugar, 1/2 t salt, and 1/4 t pepper). Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until sauce just comes to a boil (2-4 minutes). Cover; reduce heat to low. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, 35 minutes.
• Meanwhile, to prepare filling: in 10-inch skillet add sausage, 1/4 cup onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sausage is browned (10-12 minutes). Drain off fat. Add spinach. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until spinach is soft (2-3 minutes). Place sausage mixture in large bowl. Cool 10 minutes. Stir in 1/3 cup Parmesan, eggs, oregano, and 1/4 t pepper. Set aside.
• To prepare bechamel sauce: in 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth and bubbly (1 minute). Add milk, whipping cream, and pepper. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens (5-8 minutes).
• Heat oven to 375. Divide filling between manicotti tubes using a small spoon to fill each tube with about 2 T of filling (I use my clean hands--think stuffing a roll of coins). Place 1/4 cup tomato sauce on bottom of 13x9x2-inch baking pan (more if you don't boil the noodles and in a deeper pan). Place filled tubes on top of tomato sauce. Pour bechamel sauce over tubes. Top with remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is melted.
• **This is a great OAMC recipe. Before cooking/prep day, I would prepare the tomato sauce and sausage/spinach filling mixture and chill (I would prepare the tomato sauce anyway to serve as a pasta sauce--I could literally drink the stuff!). Make the bechamel sauce the day of your big session. Fill the tubes and prep the pans. Cook 45 minutes (Covered!), wrap in foil and freeze. On "eating day," cook at 375 until tubes are al dente (they probably already will be) and bubbly and cheese is melted. I would keep it covered for most of the cooking time. This is a very very rich recipe, so I would serve with a salad of bitter greens tossed in a sharp vinaigrette. It says it serves 8, but, as I said, the sauces are so rich that I can't really eat more than one tube, so I would say it serves 14.