For some extremely odd reason, I had a craving for cannelloni. I know, strange. We had leftover ricotta from the Spinach Gnocchi, so I'm sure that's where I got the idea from. A lot of the recipes I looked at used lasagna noodles for the basis of the cannelloni, but I always thought of cannelloni as Italian crepes. Mario Batali, however, does have a recipe that included a crepe-like batter. I used his crepe recipe (although, I omitted the 4 Tbs. of butter he added) and filled the cannelloni with a hearty mixture of chard and ricotta and topped them all off with a tomato sauce and mozzarella. After baking them for about 20 minutes, they came out perfectly cheesy and everything I had hoped for.
Chard and Ricotta Cannelloni
Crepe
3/4 cup flour
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup milk
Filling
1 bunch chard, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
2 cups ricotta
salt and pepper to taste
tomato sauce (canned is fine)
1/2 to 1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1. Prepare the crepe batter by whisking the ingredients together until there are no more lumps. Let it stand approximately 20 minutes.
2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until slightly fragrant. Add the chard and saute until wilted. Allow the chard to cool slightly.
3. Mix the chard with the ricotta in a large bowl. Salt and pepper to taste.
4. To prepare the crepes, heat a scant amount of butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Pour approximately 1/4 cup of batter into the skillet and make so that it covers the bottom completely. When the one side has cooked the edges will begin to peel up. At this point, flip the crepe and allow to cook on the other side. Repeat this procedure with the remaining batter.
5. In a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, lay out a crepe and fill it with the chard and ricotta mixture. Roll the edges inward to form a tube and situate so that the seam is on the bottom of the dish. Repeat with the remaining crepes and filling. Top with tomato sauce and mozzarella. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve immediately and enjoy!
2 comments:
I also had leftover ricotta from the spinach gnochi (delicious, by the way), and so I went on an online mission to find what to do with the extras. Another simple (and yummy) idea: mix ~1/3c ricotta with honey (or other sweetener of choice) and cinnamon....makes for an easy and tasty desert.
What a fantastic and simple idea! I will have to try that too. (I'm glad you enjoyed the ricotta and spinach gnocchi. I have another gnocchi recipe coming your way.)
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