Trying out Cannelloni , has been on my mind for the longest time but could get hold of the pasta shells . I have tried to replace the pasta with thin whole wheat pancakes and they have turned out really soft and the baking time also reduces considerably. The filling can be according to choice but here I have done a spinach , mushroom and cottage cheese filling. The roasted bell peppers give a lovely sweetness to the sauce.
Ingredients :-
For the sauce —
2 large onions roughly chopped
2 red bell peppers
2 yellow bell peppers
2 tsp garlic paste
4 large tomatoes blanched and puréed
1 tsp chilli flakes
8-10 leaves of fresh basil
2 tbsp of oil
Salt to taste
For the filling —
2 cup of spinach
1 large onion finely chopped
1 tsp garlic paste
1/2 cup grated cottage cheese
2 cups of chopped mushrooms
1 tsp black pepper powder
Salt to taste
2 tsp oil
For the cannelloni shells —
1 egg
1 cup whole wheat flour
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup or more milk
Grated mozzarella for garnish.
Method :-
Sauce
– Roast the yellow and red peppers ,on high heat ,till the skin is charred. Soak them in water to remove the skins and chop the flesh roughly . In a pan , heat a tbsp of oil and add roughly chopped onions and garlic paste and fry them for a bit. Add the chopped peppers and salt and cook for a few minutes till the mixture is roasted well. Allow it to cool and then grind to a smooth purée. Take another tbsp of oil in the same pan and add chilli flakes to it. Once the they are roasted well , add the pepper purée and the tomato purée. Add water to adjust the consistency of the sauce to medium thick and add chopped basil. Cover and allow the sauce to boil for a couple of minutes on low heat.
Filling – in a shallow pan , add the oil and chopped onions and garlic. Cook till the onions turn translucent and add the mushrooms. Sauté for a few minutes and add the spinach. Roast till the mixture is dry and then add the salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and add the grated cottage cheese and mix well.
The cannelloni – Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and make a thin batter. In a small , non stick pan pour a little batter and swirl it around to make a thin pancake. Remove from the pan as soon as the pancake leaves the sides of the pan. Make all the pancakes and keep aside. Place around 2 tbsp of the filling on one end of the pancake and make a tight roll. Trim the open ends so that the filling is uniform from one end to the other.
To assemble , pour some sauce on the base of an oven proof glass dish and place the cannelloni rolls side by side and pour the rest of the sauce over them. Grate some mozzarella cheese on top and bake at 200 deg for 10 minutes. Serve with hot garlic toast or any bread of choice.
