Beef & Spinach Stuffed Cannelloni

There are (many!) times to take shortcuts  by using  prepared pasta sauces, but not with this.  It's worth making year round, and when faced with a zillion ripening summer tomatoes, it's an even more terrific  sauce to make and freeze for later.  I've heard people complain about filling pasta tubes (I don't see the problem unless you're doing 100) . But if you are one of those people instead of buying the manicotti shell, purchase the  squares of no-boil lasagna noodles, soak  briefly in hot water to make them  pliable, then roll the filling in them.  

In a large pan, over low heat saute 1 c minced onion in 1/4 c olive oil til softened and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add 2 lg.  fresh, ripe tomatoes, finely chopped (about 2c.), 1 1/2 cups.  canned or fresh chopped plum tomatoes, 1/2 c. red wine, 3 TB tomato paste, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 tsp each: sugar, oregano, basil, salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Cover, simmer 20 minutes. Remove cover, cook slowly about 30 minutes more or until reduced by about 1/3.  Makes  a little less than 4 cups.

Cook 12 cannelloni or manicotti pasta shells al dente per directions, drain. Run cool water over them so they don't stick together while you prepare the filling:

Combine 10 oz.   frozen, cooked and drained spinach,  1 lb very lean ground beef or veal,  1/2 c.  grated Parmesan, 2 eggs, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/8 tsp nutmeg.  Hold the pasta tube with one hand and use a narrow teaspoon like an iced tea spoon  or a baby spoon,  or  just use your fingers to  fill them, being careful not to tear the pasta.

Preheat oven to 350.  Place 1 c. of  the sauce in  a  sprayed 13 x 9 baking dish  and arrange the cannelloni over it. Cover with 2 c. sauce, cover with foil, bake 45-50 minutes, til heated through.  Uncover, top with 1/2 c. Parmesan.   Bake  uncovered 10 minutes or til browned.  Serve with remaining sauce.

Perfect with an "Olive Garden" salad ( google that recipe), and cheesy garlic bread.    And maybe a cannoli cheesecake!

Saucy Italian Beef Braciole

Tender steak rolls wrapped around Italian salami, Romano cheese, raisins and pine nuts....traditional  everyday Italian food.  Don't be tempted to use a bottled pasta sauce, for  very simple reasons:  taste, and tradition.  Braciole is a  family dish, and the sauce is just as important as the meat.  In the past, when families couldn't afford  much meat, the sauce would have been even more important, because the family members  would have enjoyed the bite or two of meat that was their  allotment, and satisfied their hunger by mopping up the sauce with their bread. The sauce  requires no precooking so it is not at all labor-intensive.  It's only as involved as  putting the ingredients  in a pot.

While I  usually serve these delicious beef rolls with pasta, it is just as often served in Italy with potatoes.  I think it's uniquely  American to assume everything Italian  is or comes with pasta but  I do like it with bucatini (very thick hollow spaghetti), cavatappi,  or spaghetti....pasta with a lot of chewy substance  seems right with the sauce and steak.    Like meatloaf, every Italian family has their preferred version of  what they use to  stuff braciole, and I've tried many of them; some use   Parmesan,  variations on the chosen  Italian hams ( capicola, etc);  even cooked Italian sausage, the list is endless. This is the one I prefer.

First, the rich, quick sauce:
Italian Gravy:  Just put all the following  ingredients in a large, heavy pot  (remember to allow space for the meat later). Bring it to boiling,  lower the heat and  simmer for 30 minutes or until thick and rich. That's the point where you'll add the meat unless you plan to cook  it together for an extra 30 minutes.    

2  29-oz cans tomato  puree, 3 cloves minced garlic,  1/2 c. chopped onion, 1/2 c. chopped parsley, 1-2 c. fresh mushrooms, sliced, 3/4 c. Burgundy or Cabernet  wine, 2 TB dry basil,  1 TB dry oregano, 2 tsp. salt, 1 TB sugar, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 1/2 c water.  This freezes well, and makes about 8 cups.

Back to the beef....
Be sure  the beef is sliced quite thin....by the time it gets  rolled up it will be thick on its own accord, and we want it to  be fork-tender without cooking off the sauce or spending all day simmering.   Start  with the most vital step: choosing the beef.    Buy  4  (full-size)  slices of top round steak.....1/4" thick.    Call a day ahead and  ask the meat department to cut the slices for you and emphasize the thinness.  Tell them you actually want it 1/8" thick, like scallopini.  If  not, when you get it home, put it between  pieces of plastic wrap and  pound the hell out of them til they are about 1/8" , which is pretty much un-measurable. I think I figure at least 1/3 lb per person. In summary, it's not  too thin unless you can read through it! If you're using  really big pieces, you'll cut them into 2 or 3 rolls before browning.  Using small pieces you may just make one roll each,  about 4-5" long.  

Leave the steak on the bottom piece of plastic.  Season each piece with salt and pepper, and  garlic salt.    Then on  each,  sprinkle  2-3 TB.  grated romano cheese, preferably fresh,   a thin layer of prosciutto  and/or  very thinly sliced  hard or genoa salami,  about 2 TB  dark raisins, 1 TB pine nuts,  and  1 TB chopped flat-leaf  parsley.

Lift the edges of  the plastic wrap and let it help you get the roll started...roll up  tightly, jellyroll fashion, and tie each roll  every 2" or so with cotton string. Let the ends dnagle after you tie the knot, it will help  locate the string later so you can  remove it before serving.   Brown the rolls  on all sides in  a little hot olive oil, then cover with Italian gravy ( that's 'sauce' to us) and simmer until the meat is tender, somewhere between 60 and 90 minutes, it should be very tender.   The length of time will depend on the thickness of the rolls. If  unsure, cut a roll in half and check  the tenderness of an inside edge.  It should be fork-tender.   Or if they seem to be getting tender too slowly, ( probably because the beef was too thick) cut  bigger rolls in half to speed it up just a bit.

With pasta this  may serve 8 or more.   Cut the strings, serve with  the sauce and sprinkle a little parlsey on top for color.

Creamy Plantation Supper

I'm not sure that they had cream cheese back in the actual " plantation" days!   I grew up in a southern plantation house   in the 1950's,  but my mom didn't make many casseroles, something I've managed to overcompensate for as  an adult.   Oh, if casseroles weren't generally  so  full of carbs...... sigh.  This one is rich, creamy, and cream-cheesy... I clipped this out of a magazine   45 years ago  and  still  love it. Of course,  that was pre  carb-awareness,  so if I  now indulge once a year it's a memorable event.

Brown 1 lb ground beef with 1/2 c chopped onion, cook til onion is tender and beef is done. Stir in 3/4 c milk, 1 can cream of mushroom soup, and 8 oz cream cheese, cubed. Stir til well blended. The original recipe adds a drained can of corn and 1/4 c pimiento, chopped. I'm not sure I ever used either of them but both would add some color, if you're so inclined.    I have added   sautéed fresh mushrooms, or   drained canned mushrooms in a pinch.     Stir in  8 oz.  big wide noodles, cooked .  I have broken up lasagna noodles into  pieces when  it was all I had on hand.   Mafaldi,  the  rippled-edge pasta that looks like mini lasagna noodles would be perfect, and now that  pappardelle noodles are  back in vogue  and can be found  everywhere, it  would be good too....Add 1 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Stir till coated. Serves 4-6.