← Nouns Cooking · Italian

Ingredients

• 500 g Minced beef
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 1 Carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped
• 100 ml dry red wine
• 700 ml Passata
• 250 g Ricotta
• 1 Eggs
• 80 g Parmesan, grated
• 250 g dried cannelloni tubes (about 18)
• 60 g Butter
• 60 g plain flour
• 700 ml Milk
• grated nutmeg
• 3 tbsp Olive oil
• 2 tsp Salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Soften the onion, carrot and celery in the oil over medium heat for 8 min. Add the mince and brown it for 8 min, breaking it up well, then pour in the wine and let it bubble away.
2. Stir in 200 ml of the passata and a pinch of salt and simmer for 15 min until thick and dry. Cool slightly, then mix with the ricotta, egg and half the Parmesan.
3. For the béchamel, melt the butter, stir in the flour for 1 minute, then whisk in the milk a little at a time. Simmer, stirring, for 5 min until thick, and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
4. Heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan, 375°F). Season the rest of the passata and spread half of it over the base of a large baking dish.
5. Spoon or pipe the filling into the cannelloni tubes and lay them side by side in the dish.
6. Pour over the remaining passata, then the béchamel, making sure every tube is covered. Scatter with the rest of the Parmesan.
7. Bake for 35–40 min until the pasta is tender when pierced with a knife and the top is golden and bubbling. Rest for 10 min before serving.

Tips

• A piping bag (or a freezer bag with a corner snipped off) fills the tubes far faster than a spoon.
• Any tube left uncovered by sauce will stay hard, so be generous at the edges.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Great Italian Chefs GialloZafferano BBC Good Food