Stuffed cannelloni with meat ragù and peas are a rich and complete first course, a very tasty and flavorful recipe, perfect for Sundays or festive days like Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
This is a classic recipe as prepared by my grandmother and my mother, a pasta shell filled with this rich meat ragù, peas, and many other ingredients, all covered with a good homemade tomato sauce.
Cannelloni are enjoyed by both adults and children, they taste better when rested and if they are leftover the next day reheated, they are even better.
There are some steps to follow, you need to prepare two different sauces: one thick for the filling and a more liquid one for the covering, but it’s quite simple to make.
If you like this recipe, follow me in the photos and steps, you can always customize it, if you don’t like peas you can skip them and if you like béchamel you can add it to the tomato sauce.
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- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Cooking time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 25 pieces
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients for Stuffed Cannelloni with Meat Ragù and Peas
- 10.5 oz ground veal
- 7 oz frozen peas
- 1 1/4 cups tomato sauce
- 1 glass water
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 leaf bay leaf
- 1 onion
- to taste olive oil
- to taste salt
- 5.3 oz provola cheese
- 2.5 oz Prague cooked ham
- 5.3 oz Grana Padano cheese, grated
- 2 3/4 cups tomato sauce
- 1 glass water
- 1 onion
- to taste salt
- to taste olive oil
Tools
- Frying Pan
- Saucepan
- Stovetop
- Baking Dish
- Oven
Preparation for Stuffed Cannelloni with Meat Ragù and Peas
To prepare the cannelloni, start by making the sauce for the filling, cannelloni can be made with both fresh pasta and ready-to-fill dry ones.
In a large pan, sauté the chopped onion with olive oil, add the ground meat, crumble it well with a fork, stir, and brown until it changes color.Then add the tomato sauce, salt, half a glass of water and continue cooking for about 8 minutes, finally add the frozen peas and cook slowly for another 18/20 minutes or so, until the sauce thickens, it should be soft but dry.
Proceed with the covering sauce.
In another pan, sauté the onion with olive oil then pour in the tomato sauce, a glass of water, some salt, and cook for about 20 – 25 minutes, the sauce must be quite fluid but not dry.When the filling sauce is cooked, let it cool a bit then add a good handful of grated Grana, the provola or mozzarella cut into pieces, and the ham cut into small cubes, then mix and combine everything well.
Take a baking dish or casserole, pour in a ladle of covering sauce and sprinkle with grated Grana cheese.
Take the cannelloni with the help of your hands or a teaspoon, fill them with the stuffing, place them side by side in the baking dish or casserole, leaving a small space between them because they will expand a bit during cooking.
Once the dish is filled, cover the cannelloni with the covering sauce, sprinkle again with grated Grana or Parmesan cheese and place the dish in the preheated oven.
Bake the covered cannelloni at first with aluminum foil, in the oven at 356°F for about 30 minutes.Halfway through cooking, remove the foil and be careful not to burn them.
Take the cannelloni out of the oven, let them rest for 15/20 minutes before plating and serving.Great for festive days, but also for family Sundays!
Tips and Variations
Meat cannelloni keep well in the fridge for a couple of days, and when reheated in the oven, they regain creaminess and fragrance.
They can also be frozen and kept for about 3 months.
When ready to eat, place them in the fridge the night before and heat them in the oven when ready to eat.
You can replace the ground veal with pork meat or mixed meat or sausage!
Questions and Answers
Can I use béchamel
Yes, if you prefer, you can cover the cannelloni with béchamel or mix it with the tomato sauce.
Besides ragù, what else can I stuff the cannelloni with.
Cannelloni can also be stuffed with spinach and ricotta, with mushrooms and mozzarella or sausage, and can be served in white sauce with just béchamel.
