Cannelloni a la Angela

I learned this recipe from my mother-in-law Angela (thus the name of the recipe) who is a superb cook!

For this recipe, you will need:

ground meat (I mix chicken, pork and beef)

chopped onions, minced garlic, salt, white ground pepper, chopped fresh parsley

For the bechamel: cornstarch, chopped onion, minced garlic and milk (not shown)

Foie Gras pâté(I use the Black Iberian Pork type)

Pre-cooked Lasagna Pasta (instead of using the cylindrical cannelloni pasta, I use lasagna pasta which allows me to make bigger canelones with more filling, just the way my family loves it!)

Dried or fresh oregano, grated cheese for grilling

Directions:

Heat olive oil and sauté the chopped onions and minced garlic until onions are transparent and garlic is lightly golden in color.

Add the ground meat and mix well.

Add the chopped fresh parsley. Mix well.

When the meat has already changed in color, add the foie gras. Mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

While we’re waiting for the filling to cool down, let’s proceed with the bechamel sauce.

Sauté chopped onions and minced garlic on olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once the onions has become transparent, add some milk (desired amount depending on the quantity of canelones you’ll be making). For 1 tray of canelones, I typically add 1.5 liters of milk (more or less). In a cup of water (room temperature), add 3-4 tablespoons of cornstarch. Mix until the cornstarch is well dissolved. Once the milk mixture is already boiling, pour the cornstarch mixture and stir constantly so the mixture won’t stick to the bottom of the pot. If the bechamel doesn’t have the right consistency, just add cornstarch or milk (if it’s too thick, add milk. if it’s too thin, more constarch). Set aside.

For the canelones, I boil a pot of water. I blanch the lasagna pasta plates one by one and dry them on a towel. Don’t cook through your lasagna plates, just submerge it in to the boiling water and after a minute or two, scoop it up and dry it onto a towel. This would make them manageable.

When the filling is not hot anymore, proceed to work with your canelones. Get one pasta plate, fill it with the filling and roll.

Place your canelones on a buttered baking dish and pour bechamel sauce over it.

Sprinkle dried oregano over your bechamel sauce.

Top with grated cheese. Now you have a tray of yummy canelones!

Bake the canelones at 200ºC on a pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.

When it has already cooled down, I cut it into portions and freeze some. So when I need it, I just take it out of the freezer and place it in the refrigerator the night before and just heat it in the oven before consumption.