The Best Cannelloni with minced beef and cream!
Mouthwatering minced beef in filling in tomato sauce with a creamy and melted cheese topping I can guarantee that you will love this recipe no matter your age!
What is cannelloni and how to cook them?
Cannelloni is a cylindrical type of pasta that is usually cooked stuffed. This dish, with Italian roots, is usually oven-baked and has plenty of alternatives for the filling, with the most popular being minced beef, chicken, and spinach ricotta. As for the toppings you can use tomato sauce, béchamel, or cream.
Cannelloni Bolognese, as they call it in Italy, is a Sunday dinner that the whole family loves and is also very popular in Greece! It took me many tries until I find the perfect milk/cream ration for the cannelloni to be cooked perfectly but it was worth it because it turned out the best cannelloni I’ve ever had!
The Best Cannelloni with minced beef and cream!
Ingredients:
- 600g Minced Beef (Preferred cut: Flank)
- 600ml fresh Milk
- 600ml Heavy Cream (38% fat)*
- 3 fresh Tomatoes, grated
- 250g Tomato puree passata
- 70g Tomato paste
- 1 Florina horn red pepper, cut into small cubes
- 1 Green bell pepper, cut into small cubes
- ½ tsp ground Cinnamon
- 1 tsp honey (optional)
- 4 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1 pinch of black pepper
- 1 pinch of salt / to taste
- 120g grated cheese of your choice (I use a mix of Kefalotyri and Regato Kerrygold)
Instructions:
- Sweat the onion with the olive oil over high heat and add the minced beef with the cinnamon and the black pepper.
- Sauté them until the minced meat loses its juice and creates a crust in the bottom of the pot (about 5 mins).
- Move the minced beef to the half side of the pot and add on the opposite side the red and green pepper cubes and sauté them all together until they wither (about 2 mins).
- Again, move the minced beef to the half side of the pot and add the fresh grated tomatoes, the passata tomato puree, the tomato paste, the honey, and salt to the other side.
- Let them heat up and then mix it all together while deglazing your pot.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 10 minutes and the minced beef filling for the Cannelloni is ready.
- Let the filling Rest off heat, to cool off a bit, for about 30 minutes.
- Line the cannelloni into a medium size baking pan and use a teaspoon to stuff them with the minced beef filling.
- Pour the milk and the heavy cream on top and sprinkle the grated cheese.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 180C / 350F in the lower rack of your oven for 30 minutes and then use the grill option for 10 minutes to give the cheese a slight crust on top.
- Serve with a green salad or Greek salad and enjoy!
Notes:
If you don’t have heavy cream labeled whipping cream in your country get a whipping cream with 38% Fat. The consistency of the cream needs to be thick because it influences the taste and the baking of this recipe greatly.
Did you make this recipe? Or are you planning to make it? Let me know in the comments below, tag me on Instagram @freshpiato or show me your photos on Pinterest!
