Cannelloni with Ragu Bolognese

Cannelloni is not as complicated to make as one would think. It might take a few times to learn it just like learning to do anything else.

We often have spaghetti Bolognese for a meal and on Sunday I wanted to make a bit more special dish as my sister and brother-in-law were coming over for lunch.

For 8 people you will need
Meat sauce: 400 g minced meat, 2 tbsp olive oil,  2 large onions, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 carrot, 2 dl beef stock and 1 dl red wine. Salt, pepper and thyme.
One packet of cannelloni, 2 dl grated Parmesan, 2 dl rocket, one can of crushed tomatoes, 2.5 dl boiling water, salt and pepper

Chop the onion, garlic and carrot, and saute in olive oil. Add the meat and brown it. Add the beef stock and 1 dl red wine. Let simmer and add salt, pepper and thyme.

Grease an oven pan and turn the oven on 175 C. Start filling the cannelloni tubes with the meat sauce and place them in the pan. Once the pan is full, cover the cannelloni with rocket and spoon the crushed tomato on it. Add the grated cheese. Pour over some boiling water.
Cook for 25 – 35 minutes. Enjoy!

 

Gnocchi with Ricotta, Spinach and Gorgonzola

Tried a new recipe for gnocchi this Saturday – the gnocchi was actually with the same recipe as earlier but the company was new.

For a four small portions of gnocchi you need 300 g floury potatoes, 100 g flour and 1 egg. Peel and cook the potatoes. Mash them and let cool. Add the flour and egg. Knead until smooth and let rest. Bake into finger thick sticks and cut into 3 cm long pieces. Roll and press with a fork. Let rest until you are ready to cook them.

I baked the gnocchi in oven with cheese and spinach, and for this I needed a packet of Ricotta, 200 g baby spinach, nutmeg, salt and pepper, 2 tbsp sun flower seeds, 40 g Parmesan and 100 g Gorgonzola. 

Mix a packet of ricotta and 100 g of baby spinach. Add some freshly grated nutmeg and 40 g Parmesan. Take an oven form and brush it with oil. Place a bed of spinach leaves on the bottom. Add a layer of cheese mix and them baked gnocchi. Add another layer of cheese mix and gnocchi. Sprinkle on 2 tbsp sun flower seeds, add salt and pepper and 100 g Gorgonzola. Bake in 180 C for 20 minutes.

Homemade Ravioli with Mozzarella and Truffle Oil

We have had a pasta machine for a couple of years but it was only recently I have started using it. My husband seems like a pro with tagliatelle already. Who would have thought of the emotions with the first turnings of the pasta machine wheel? I was moved and bop very happy over my self-made tagliatelle ever. This week it was time to try making ravioli. It was Monday and freezing, we had no winter tyres in the car and had to create a what’s-in-the-fridge-n-pantry dinner. Not much fuzz though and rather quick to make.

Vittoria, my dear Italian friend, has given me many recipes and the basic pasta recipe for two is one of them.

You need 100 g durum flour and one egg for the pasta. The filling is my invention and you need 100 g Mozarella, fresh oregano, 50 g butter and truffle oil.

Put the flour on a baking surface and make a well in the middle. Crack the egg in the well, and turn mix it first with a fork. Then work in the flour with fingers. Knead until smooth and fine. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes and voila!
Prepare the filling and mince 100 g of Mozzarella and 10 leaves of oregano. Add some olive oil.

Cut the pasta dough into two and flatten it first by hand. Then work it through the machine twice or three times making it thinner and thinner. Place the rectangular pasta sheets on a floured baking surface. Take half of the sheets, and place 2 tsp of the filling on each circle and brush the dough with water. Place the rest of the sheets on, press the dough together with fingers and cut with a roller or a glass. Press the creases tight. 

Cook in boiling water with lots of salt for 3-5 minutes. Melt 50 g of butter and place some more oregano in it. Dish the ravioli on plates. Pour on some melted butter and spray with truffle oil.

Cannelloni di funghi

Mushrooms and autumn go hand in hand. I’ve not yet found the perfect spots for chantrelles,  porcini and all other sorts in the woods near my newish hometown. Hence I headed to the grocery store for them. To my disappointment there were no first class chanterelles and I settled for a package of lightly salted mix of forest mushroom. Now I could make my cannelloni.This is what you need for a panfull (3-4 portions)

9 lasagne sheets, 1 tbsp 1 cup of chopped salted mushroom, an onion,  a clove of garlic, 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tbsp tomato pure in a tube

Bechamel: 2 tbsp butter, 1 tbsp flour, 2 cups of milk, 1/2 cup grated pecorino

50-100g of Grated cheese to top the dish (this can be a mix of Parmesan, Pecorino, Mozzarella or Emmenthal).

Cook the lasagne plates if you are not using fresh pasta. Chop the garlic and onion. Sauté them in butter. Rinse the mushroom in cold water to remove excess salt. Add the mushroom and tomato paste, cook for 10 minutes. Add the oregano and pepper. You will not need salt if the mushroom was in salt brine.

Make the bechamel. Melt the butter and add the flour. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add the milk whisking vigorously, you do not want clumps of flour. Add the cheese and cook for 5 minutes of so. Taste and add salt and pepper. You can even use a bit of nutmeg. 

Turn the oven to 180 C. Grease an oven pan. Take a lasagne sheet and place 1 -2 tbsp of the mushroom mix on it. Roll into a cannelloni looking roll, and place in the pan. Pour the bechamel over your cannelloni rolls and put on the cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

#17 Tagliatelle with Bolognese and Spinach

Another delightful dish with freshly made pasta -tagliatelle. My husband is getting to be a real pro at pasta making. This time it was served with a ragu of tomato, onion, minced meat and spinach.

A wonderful weekend dish.

#Gnocchi di Patate a la Artusi

Another recipe from my lovely Artusi book. The recipe is for  gnocchi, and you need 400 g floury potatoes and 150 g flour.

Boil the potatoes. Let then cool a while, peel and press. Mix in the flour. Roll into finger thick sticks and cut into three centimeter pieces. Press with a fork, set a side on a plate and sprinklerit with flour.

Cook in salted water for 5-10 minutes. Serve with butter and sage. Or tomato sauce or with broth.

Comforting Pasta with Black Chantarelle

A dark November evening, Thursday of a busy week. Pitch dark at half past six. Do not feel like grocery shopping and rummage in the pantry. A half full jar of dried mushroom, from the neighbour. Some spaghetti in the pasta jar, a splash of red wine and some herbs. And Parmesan. Just right for a meal.

This recipe is for two:

1,5 dl dried mushroom, 2 dl water, 2 tbsp tomato paste, 1 dl red wine, salt and pepper, 2 tbsp chopped parsley and the same amount of rocket and grated Parmesan. 150 g pasta per person.

Soak the mushroom in water in a pan for half an hour or hour. Enjoy a good glass of wine and olives while the mushroom is soaking.

Put the heat on and add the tomato. Put the pasta water on and cook the mushrooms  on low heat while the pasta is cooking. Mix the two together, and add the rest of the ingredients while the pan is still on the stove.

Enjoy! And have a restful evening.

 

 

 

 

 

Artusi’s Gnocchi Baked with Cheese

The blog may start repeating itself but I simply cannot stop testing different versions of my favourite dishes.

Potato gnocchi a la Pellegrino Artusi baked with blue cheese, Pecorino and rocket.

The gnocchi are quite easy to make and my fingers seem finally have learnt to turn the dough and roll it.

For a batch of two huge portions for two, you will need

Four large floury potatoes and 150 g flour, and water and salt for cooking them. For the oven bake you will additionally need 50 g Pecorino, 100 g blue cheese, 50 g rocket, nutmeg and olive oil.

Start with boiling the potatoes. Let them cool and peel and mash them with a fork. Work in the flour and roll into four inch thick rolls. Cut into 1/3 inch pieces that you roll in flour and press lightly with a fork. Cook the gnocchi in boiling salted water. They are done once they surface. Place the gnocchi into an oven form .

Great 50 g of Pecorino, mash 100 g blue cheese, rinse 50 g rocket salad. Place the “filling” in the form once you have cooked half of the gnocchi and save some of the Pecorino for the top. Grate some nutmeg on the form. Place the rest of the gnocchi in the form and top with grated Pecorino. Bake in 175 C for 20 minutes.

Enjoy! With or without a good red wine and green salad. Fresh fruit for dessert.

Homemade Pasta

My husband told me that he would take care of dinner today. I was back from work around six and dinner was served at seven.

The homemade pasta, tagliatelle was certainly worth the wait. Thank you Vittoria for the recipe. 100 g flour & one egg. As simple as that! It is then another thing to get the paste smooth and rolling smoothly through the pasta machine.

Pasta with Asparagus and Lemon

Springtime calls for asparagus! This recipe unites it with lemon and pasta. 

I placed my first ever order at the neighbouring farnmers’ market shop, Raakatori, last Sunday. It is only five minutes to the shop but I wanted to plan my cooking and make a trial order. Unfortunately they were out of organic Finnish asparagus and I had to send my husband to another shop. The lemons and ginger were lovely – although not local produce. The organic oatmeal made the best porridge ever.  

This easy and quick recipe is for two.

6 asparagus stems

Lemon sauce: 1 tbsp butter, 1/2 tbsp flour, 2 dl water, juice and zest of one lemon, 1/2 tbsp chicken stock

Two small handfuls of pasta, salt and Parmesan 

Clean the asparagus and cut the stems  in two. Cook them in salt water and add some white wine vinegar.  Start with the thicker ends of the stems, cook them for 5 minutes. Add the tops and cook for 4 minutes. Set aside.
Set the pasta water to cook and make the sauce while the pasta is cooking. 

Melt the butter and add the flour. Stir well and do not let the mixture brown. Pour in the water stirring vigorously. Add the lemon zest and juice. Add some chicken stock or vegetable one. Let cook on low heat for 5 minutes. 

Pour the cooked pasta and asparagus in with the sauce and heat it up. Add salt to taste and a couple of tablespoons of Parmesan.

Enjoy!