Beef and Spinach Cannelloni for Dinner (photos)

This will be the longest post I have ever made. On a scale of 1-10 of complexity, I would rate this dish a 7 or 8.

We do Cannelloni entirely from scratch. It is a lot of work, but it is always worth it.

Pasta:

2 cups Semolina flour (you can use AP if you like)
2 (large) eggs
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons water (added as needed)



To make the pasta:

Mound semolina, make a well of flour on work surface and add eggs salt and oil to well.



Slowly pull the flour into the well with your fingers or a fork to incorporate ingredients. Add water as needed to make the pasta dough ball. It will most likely take the full 2 Tablespoons of water. It looks like this when properly mixed.



The pasta must be thoroughly kneaded to develop the gluten in the flour. The more kneading, the more tender the pasta will be. With the dough on the work surface, press the ball down firmly with the heel of the palm to compress and stretch it. Then fold the dough back over onto the pressed area and repeat again and again for 10 minutes. The ball will get firm and shiny.



Wrap the ball in plastic wrap and rest it for 40 minutes, while you work the rest of the dish. The pasts will be made toward the end of the preparation, just before filling it.



As a note - Pasta dough may be stored in the fridge for a few days. It may be made and dried to allow for several weeks storage in a plastic bag in the pantry. We only used half of this pasta dough. The second half was stored in the refrigerator for making Fettuccine al Burro on Monday night.

Salsa di Pomodoro - a very thick marinara sauce.

You'll need

Tomatoes - 28 ounce. This is not a cheap dish. Fresh or canned - Buy good tomatoes. The sauce is worth it.
Small can of Tomato Paste
Onions - I used three. Chopped - the measure was a little over a cup.
Garlic - two cloves, minced
Olive oil - 2 Tablespoons - for sauté use
Basil - Two Tablespoons fresh
Oregano - one Tablespoon (dried)
Sugar - 1 teaspoon
Salt - 1/2 teaspoon
Black pepper - 1 teaspoon



Sauté onions and garlic in Olive Oil until translucent.





Crush the tomatoes - just do it with your hands. The wife is an excellent by hand tomato crusher.



Add tomatoes to the vegetables in the sauté pan with the can of tomato paste, basil, oregano, sugar, salt and black pepper.



Cook covered at a slow simmer (low heat so as to not burn the sauce) for 30 - 40 minutes, stir occasionally as it wants to stick as it gets thick.





The Salsa di Pomodori is intended to be thick and rich in color and flavor.

Meat filling:

You'll Need:

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 pound Ground Round
Butter - 2 Tablespoons for cooking beef and chicken liver
1 or 2 Chicken Livers
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 clove minced garlic
6 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
1/4 cup parmesan cheese fine shred
1 Tablespoon heavy cream
1 egg - beaten
1 teaspoon oregano
Salt & pepper to taste



Sauté onions in olive oil and add chopped spinach.



Cook the spinach until it is dry and starts trying to stick to the sauté pan.



Set aside the vegetables. There will be a lot less than you had when you started.



Cook ground round in a Tablespoon of butter with a little salt and pepper.





Add the cooked beef to the bowl with vegetables.

Sauté the chicken liver in butter with a little black pepper. This doesn't seem like much chicken liver, but the flavor helps make the dish. Sauté the liver until firm. Chop and add to bowl.





Leave the chopped liver pieces big enough to not get lost in the stuffing.

add the meats to the bowl:



Add shredded parmesan, the egg and a tablespoon of heavy cream. Mix well. Taste for seasoning and set aside.





Besciamella Sauce

You'll Need:

2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons Flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper



Add the flour to 2 Tablespoons melted butter in sauté pan



Cook the flour four minutes. Do not brown the flour. This is a blond sauce.



Add milk and heavy cream to the blond roux and stir



with a whisk until a thick heavy cream sauce forms



Taste and season with salt and pepper. set aside.

Making Cannelloni wrappers

Finally, we return to the pasta dough, which is now a glossy, workable consistency.



(Post too long - continued below)

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