Yesterday I just finished eating four homemade cannelloni stuffed with spinach and ricotta covered in melted mozzarella and romano cheese topped with a zucchini tomato sauce.  Is that wrong?  Oh and throw in a couple of meatballs and a few pieces of garlic bread.

The best part about this dish is that is so simple to make.  The only thing that took a little time was making the crespelle.  Yes, if your going to make this recipe take the time to make homemade crespelle.  They’re lighter and fluffier compared to the dense  store bought packaged cannelloni.

The crespelle recipe below makes around a dozen but I doubled it because I had a few people over.  This recipe is also plain.  Sometimes I’ll put dried basil or tarragon in the batter depending on what I’m preparing. Usually I’ll use dried basil when I make a plain ricotta filling.   Crespelles can also be made for breakfast.  Just fill them with cheese and scrambled eggs or fresh fruit and whipped cream for something a little lighter.

The sauce that I created for this recipe was delicious.  It was a simple solution to getting my kids to eat more vegetables by hiding them in something else.  The zucchini adds a distinct flavor to the sauce and enhances the flavor of the ricotta and spinach filling.  If you prefer you can make this recipe using a bolognaise or even an alfredo sauce.

For the filling I used ricotta, fresh spinach, fresh mozzarella, romano cheese, fresh chopped Italian flat leaf parsley and a pinch of nutmeg.  You can substitute kale or swiss chard for the spinach as well as utilizing different cheeses like asiago or fontina for the filling.

So I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family did.  Make it for the weekend and let me know how it turned out.

CRESPELLE

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of milk
• 3/4 cup of all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp of salt
• 3 tsp of butter

PREPARATION

• In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, flour and salt.
• Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Heat up and grease a small 6 or 7 inch frying pan with a little of the butter.
• Add around 2 and !/2 Tbls of batter to the pan and swirl the pan around until bottom of the pan is covered.
• When the edges of the crespelle pulls away from the pan flip it over using a small spatula.
• Slip it onto a plate and repeat until all the batter is used up.
• Add bits of butter as needed.

NOTE: The trick to keeping the crepes from sticking to the pan is to make sure the pan is nice and hot.  Be careful not to burn.

Makes around 12 crespelles

FILLING

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound of fresh baby spinach
• 1 pound of ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup of fresh grated romano cheese
• 1/2 cup of shredded fresh mozzarella
• 1/4 cup of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper
• Pinch of nutmeg

PREPARATION

• Thoroughly wash the spinach under cold water.
  
• In a large pot steam the spinach until wilted.
• Finely chop the spinach
• In a large bowl, whisk together all the ingredients.
• Refrigerate until your ready to use.

ZUCCHINI SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium size zucchini, diced into small pieces
  
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 6 white button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3 Tbls of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbls of tomato paste
• 1/2 cup of red wine
• 1 15oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 1 tsp of dried basil
• 1 tsp of dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of fresh groung black pepper
• 2 tsp of sugar

PREPARATION

• In a large saucepan saute the zucchini, onion, mushrooms and garlic for 3 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and cook for another minute
• Stir in the red wine and cook for about 2 minutes more.
• Add the tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and sugar.
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for about 1 hour.

TOPPING

• 1 cup of fresh grated romano cheese
• 8 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Lightly oil a large glass baking dish.
• Place some of the zucchini sauce on the bottom of the dish.
• Using a spoon, place the ricotta mixture in the center of the crespelle and roll them up.
• Place the cannelloni in the baking dish.
• Repeat until all the ricotta mixture is used up.
• Top the cannalloni with more zucchini sauce.
• Top with the romano cheese and mozzarella
• Bake for 30 to 40 minutes uncovered until the cheese is melted and golden on top.

That about it.  It’s a lot easier than it looks. Enjoy!

Mangia Italiano!

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There is nothing better than a nice ripe  eggplant.  This recipe is one of my favorites.  It’s full of flavor and very easy to put together.  When purchasing eggplant make sure they are firm, shiny and heavy.  Use them right away or they will become bitter in taste and ruin the dish.

Many traditional Italian recipes stem from eggplant.  Recipes like caponata, eggplant parmesan and pickeled eggplant and the delicious eggplant rollatini, which are stuffed with cheese,  are just a few of the dishes you can make.

The hearty texture of the eggplant replaces the meat in this dish so it’s perfect for vegetarians.  Just mix together the following ingredients and you’ll be enjoying this great meal within 45 minutes.  This is just one of the recipes I modified  from my ebook, “Mia Cucina Pazzo”.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 3 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 6 baby portabella mushrooms
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 3 Tbls of tomato paste
• 1/2 cup of red wine
• 1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1/4 cup of fresh basil, chopped
• 1/4 cup of Italian flat leaf parsley
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 3/4 tsp of fresh ground black pepper
• 1 lb of Fettuccine
• 1/2 cup of fresh grated parmesan cheese

PREPARATION

• In a large frying pan saute the eggplant for 2 minutes in the olive oil.
• Add the onions, mushrooms and garlic  and saute until slightly tender.
• Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the red wine and stir.
• Add the tomatoes, sugar, basil and parsley.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Cover and simmer for around 30 to 40 minutes.
• In 6 quarts of boiling salted water, cook the fettucine until al dente.  Around 10 minutes.
• Drain the pasta and toss into the eggplant mixture.
• Serve with fresh grated parmesan cheese and garlic bread.

Serves 4 people

Mangia Italiano!

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