Canelones/Canalóns are well-loved in Catalunya; this blog post has a good history. The "Rossini" version is a bit fancy, adding pâté per the composer's reputation as a "militant connoisseur". This recipe comes from a Canal Sur video.
We've made Canelones before with homemade pasta. Here in Barcelona, every store carries "placas" of Canelones: sheets of dried pasta that are uncooked or precooked. The original recipe used "carne" (beef) but beef/pork mixes are common, as are ground pork, chicken, and turkey -- you can use whichever you like. Rossini may have used Foie Gras, but Pâté has a better texture for this and is much more affordable. You can tweak the vegetables in the filling, but I think Onions should definitely be included. Other recipes don't use the veggies, add ham, while some mush up the meats and add cream, but we find the texture of the ground meat more pleasant. Tomate Frito is a cooked tomato sauce, thicker than uncooked puree.
The box of uncooked sheets had 20 sheets, while the precooked had 18 but ours stuck mercilessly so we ended up with only 12 -- not doing that again! It's not nearly so common to find the pasta tubes I'm used to seeing in The States.
This makes 4 servings, and they reheat gracefully in the microwave.
20 sheets Canelone pasta (uncooked)
Olive Oil
1 Onion, fine dice
3 cloves Garlic, finely sliced
1 Carrot, grated
1 small Green/Red Pepper (mild), finely diced
300 g Ground Beef/Pork mix
60 ml Tomate Frito [4 Tbs]
120 g Pâté
50 g Flour
50 g Olive Oil
500 ml Milk
Cheese (e.g., Parmesan, Manchego), grated or sliced
Given the problem we've had with the precooked sheets sticking, I strongly suggest the uncooked pasta sheets; the precooked ones don't save much time, really. Bring a large pot of salted water to a strong boil and drop the sheets, one-by-one, into it, and stir so they don't stick to the bottom nor to each other. Boil for 12-15 minutes per the box -- we wanted a bit more texture so stay to the shorter time. Rinse in cold water to stop cooking and prevent sticking. Remove and lay on kitchen towels or directly on an oiled counter to dry.
Meanwhile, start the filling.
Sauté the Onions, Garlic, Carrot, Pepper.
Add the Meat and sauté until cooked.
Add 60 ml Tomate Frito and combine.
Turn off heat and add Pâté, then mix to meld the ingredients.
Add Salt and Pepper to taste.
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| Adding pâté to veg and meat |
While that's cooking, prepare the bechamel.
Cook the Flour in the Oil until the Flour's cooked; a whisk is perfect here.
Add the Milk and whisk to make a Bechamel with a texture of light cream.
Grate in the Nutmeg.
Add 2 Tbs Tomato Sauce.
If it's a bit thick, add Milk; if too thin, boil to reduce.
Preheat oven to 200C.
Add a bit of Oil a baking dish (we used three Pyrex loaf pans) and spread; this keeps the pasta from sticking to the dish, and causes them to develop a slight crunch on the bottom.
Lay out a few Pasta Sheets and add about a finger-sized line of filling.
Roll them up, overlapping the seam a little, and place them in the baking dish or loaf pan seam side up so the serving spatula doesn't unwrap them
Top the Canelones with the Bechamel, then add grated/sliced Cheese.
Bake 20 minutes until the Cheese is golden and the filling is heated through.
Let sit a few minutes to set up, then serve.
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