A comforting Italian-American cannelloni recipe, featuring a savory meat and ricotta filling wrapped in egg roll skins, topped with marinara, béchamel, and Parmesan, then baked until golden.
1. Sauté the celery, onion, and garlic in olive oil over medium high heat for 2-3 mins until onions are translucent; add the ground beef, Italian sausage, salt and Italian seasoning and continue sautéing until meat is cooked through (break the meat into small pieces with your spatula).
2. Mix in the spinach, parsley, and basil and then drain fat and set aside to cool.
3. Preheat oven to 425°F; mix together the ingredients for the ricotta mixture and then add in the meat; stir.
4. Right before you are ready to assemble the cannelloni, make the béchamel: In a pot over medium high heat, melt the butter and then stir in the flour with a whisk; cook the flour whisking constantly for 1-2 minutes and then start gradually pouring in the milk 1/4 cup at a time, whisking so that the milk is fully incorporated before adding more; once all of the milk is added, continue whisking until the white sauce comes to a boil and has thickened; mix in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg and turn off the heat.
5. Cover the bottom of a dish with a layer of marinara; place 1/4 cup filling in each egg roll skin (leave a little space on the sides so it doesn’t go all the way to the edge); roll until filling is covered and then cut of the excess skin (it won’t cook through properly if you leave it).
6. Top the cannelloni with some more marinara, béchamel, and parmesan and bake at 425F for 15 mins; top with some fresh basil and parm before serving and enjoy!
