Cannelloni

Did you know that cannelloni and manicotti are two different types of Italian foods? Sometimes people make the mistake of calling manicotti 'cannelloni' but actually they are not the same.

I have loved cannelloni since I was a young girl. Even though it is kind of like lasagne because there are almost the same ingredients, I prefer it because the fillings are more flexible... or maybe I am just more rigid in how I like my lasagne to be made haha!!

This is not like the cannelloni like mamma used to make but it is still quite good, especially because of the mascarpone which is one of my favourite types of cheese... did you know, you can mix mascarpone with good quality ready-made custard, to use as the custard filling for a trifle? I know it sounds not quite right but I assure you it is quite good, as long as you do not use too much mascarpone or your custard will become quite thick.

Anyway, I digress!! I thought I would share the recipe here, it is from Jamie Oliver who is a British chef but specialises in Italian food.

I hope you enjoy it... let me know what you think!!

Ingredients:

• a handful of Parmesan, grated

• 2 x 250g tubs of mascarpone

• 100g taleggio cheese, grated

• zest and juice of 2 lemons

• a handful of chopped walnuts

• 180g bag of baby spinach, chopped

• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 20g pack of fresh sage

• 2 knobs of butter

• 1 packet of fresh lasagne – 12 sheets  

Method:

Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5. Mix half the Parmesan, the mascarpone, the taleggio, the lemon zest and juice, and the walnuts. Put ¼ of the mixture to one side, then combine the remaining cheese mixture with the spinach and season to taste. Fry the sage leaves in hot butter and crumble ½ into the cheese and spinach mixture, saving the rest for the top. Put a good spoonful of the cheese and spinach mixture along one of the longer edges of each lasagne sheet and roll up. Put them in a flat oven dish, dot with the leftover cheese mixture, drizzle over ¼ of a glass of water and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and crispy sage leaves. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/baked-cannelloni