And yet, here it is another meat- free recipe for you! In my last post, I shared this vegetarian burger recipe, and I thought that it would be a good idea to share another meat-free favorite of mine. If you’re a vegetarian or just trying to eat less meat, I’m positive that you’d fall in love with this recipe entirely. So vegetarians ‘and also omnivores’ are welcome to try it!
This recipe has a lot of meaning to me, and that’s because it has my mother’s name written all over it. Me and my brother’s would stand by the kitchen’s table looking at my mom (almost impatiently) while she would make the crepes one by one and started adding the filling to every single one of them, but the 'AWWWW moment' happened when she would pour the sauce all over them and sprinkle a full hand of freshly grated parmesan cheese on top of the cannelloni. That was incredible!!!
Now let me tell you the ‘top 5’ hidden features of this recipe:
Now let me tell you the ‘top 5’ hidden features of this recipe:
>> 1- you don’t need to buy the cannelloni pasta.
>> 2- the filling and the sauce can be made the day ahead and keep refrigerated in an airtight container.
>> 3- the savory crepes can be made a couple of hours before serving or if you’re going to make the cannelloni for dinner, you can prepared the batter early in the morning + put it in the fridge until ready to use.
>> 4- the ingredients used in this recipe, both the sauce and the crepes are mostly inexpensive + easy to find.
>> 5- this is a very simple to make recipe + it is delicious.
>> 2- the filling and the sauce can be made the day ahead and keep refrigerated in an airtight container.
>> 3- the savory crepes can be made a couple of hours before serving or if you’re going to make the cannelloni for dinner, you can prepared the batter early in the morning + put it in the fridge until ready to use.
>> 4- the ingredients used in this recipe, both the sauce and the crepes are mostly inexpensive + easy to find.
>> 5- this is a very simple to make recipe + it is delicious.
We love this recipe very much and if you try it, I’m sure everybody in your family (especially if you have children) would be asking you to make these CANNELLONIS with juicy SAUCE more often that you’d possibly imagine! And if you don’t believe me, ask my daughter (picture below) who only couldn’t stop licking the wooden spoon! Oh, and BTW you can use this sauce with any pasta dish you like, even with gnocchi!
ROASTED ONIONS + RED BELL PEPPER PASTA SAUCE
AND SPINACH + RICOTTA CREPE CANNELLONI
make 14 crepes + 2 3/4 C. Pasta SauceFor the Roasted Onions + Red Bell Pepper Pasta Sauce:
2 Medium Onions (yellow onions),peeled + cut into wedges
1 Large Red Bell Pepper,cut into half
1 Garlic clove, coarsely chopped
1 x 400 g./14 oz can of diced tomatoes800 ml / about 3 1/4 C. Water
4 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
Olive oil
Salt to taste
1 tsp. honey (or regular sugar) to cut acidity of the sauce
Pasta Sauce Preparation:
> Preheat oven to 180C/350F. In a baking tray add onions, red bell pepper and garlic. Add olive oil and salt and mix through. And roast for about 20 minutes. When ready let everything cool for a about 10 minutes or so. Then chop the roasted onions and pepper coarsely. Set aside.
> In a saucepan over medium heat add a little bit of olive oil, then add the chopped roasted onions + red bell pepper and give it a quick sauté. Add the 400 g. diced tomatoes, the tomato paste,plus 400 ml water. Stir and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down add the rest of the water (400 ml), add the honey and simmer gently for about 25-30 minutes. When ready, let it cool down and pour it in a blender and blend for 1 minute, until it's nice and thick. Keep it in the fridge until ready to use.
For the Crepes:
2 C. All Purpose Flour / Plain Flour / Standard Flour ( I use unbleached standard flour)
1 Medium Egg
2 1/2 C. Milk (plant based milk or 1C. standard milk + 1 1/2 C. water)
Crepes Preparation:
> In a bowl add the flour + egg and gradually add milk, whisking until smooth and all ingredients are well combined.
> Heat an 20 cm frying pan over medium-high heat and scoop /pour 1/4 cup batter into the pan and with a circular motion coats the surface of the pan evenly with the batter. Cook (one side) for about 2 minutes until lightly golden, then using a spatula turn over and cook for the other side for a further 30 second. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the rest of the batter.
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For the Spinach + Ricotta Cannelloni Filling:
1 1/2 C. Spinach, cooked
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
250 g. / 1 C. Ricotta
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste (optional)
Nutmeg to taste
Filling Preparation:
> In a frying pan cook onion until translucent. Add the cooked spinach and sauté for a couple of minutes, add salt and nutmeg. Now, turn off and add the ricotta ( add more salt and nutmeg if needed) set aside.
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> PUTTING EVERYTHING TOGETHER:
On a baking dish, add a little bit of oil and coat evenly. Set aside.
Start filling each crepe with the spinach and ricotta filling, roll each crepe and place each crepe/cannelloni side by side in the prepared baking dish. (If you have glass trays like mine in the picture, you'd probably need two trays).
Now, the AWWWW Moment! Pour over the sauce (as much as you like) and add grated parmesan cheese on top of the cannelloni. Bake for about 15 minutes or until cheese is completely melted and bubbly! Serve immediately. Enjoy!
