Chicken and Ricotta Cannelloni

So this was our recipe for last Thursday...it does take a little longer to make so leave yourself enough time for starters. One word of advice-make enough sauce! We made enough sauce but then decided as we had extra cannelloni to make a second dish of it and divide the sauce up between the two dishes-not a good idea! Our first batch was pretty dry and as there was not a lot of sauce on top, the tops of the cannelloni were exposed and got a little dark in the oven. The next day we made the second batch but before doing that I just made a light alfredo sauce (cream and/or milk + flour) and made sure the cannelloni were all covered and it was delicious!

Also, the recipe does not call for salt at all...not while you are cooking the meat, the vegetables, or making the sauce. I understand it's to keep it healthy but if you use only a little it goes a long way and does not compromise the overall healthiness of the meal. I made up for it by adding it to the sauce I made on day 2 and it was perfect!

Also, the recipe doesn't say this, but you can also tweak the ingredients to make different flavours of cannelloni. Try spinach and ricotta, or adding broccoli, etc.

Also, the recipe only calls for 1/4 cup of Mascarpone cheese but the smallest tub is 250 g. Save it and make a small tirimisu for dessert.

300 g ground chicken
50 g red pepper, seeded and finely diced
1⁄2 small leek, finely chopped
50 g frozen peas
250 g reduced-fat ricotta cheese
50 g mascarpone cheese
1 egg
5 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, chives or basil, or a mixture
pepper to taste
24 x 7.5 cm instant cannelloni tubes, about 185 g in total
Sauce
4 cups low-fat milk
1⁄2 onion, studded with 4 cloves
1 bay leaf
1⁄8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
pepper to taste
1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
Topping
1⁄2 cup fine fresh whole-wheat breadcrumbs
1⁄4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Directions

1. To make the sauce, pour the milk into a heavy-based pan. Add the onion, bay leaf, nutmeg and pepper. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat, cover and set aside to cool.
2. Meanwhile, in a frying pan over medium-high heat, cook the chicken until white and crumbly. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Place the diced red pepper, leek and frozen peas in a heatproof bowl, pour in enough boiling water to cover them and leave for 30 seconds. Drain the vegetables well.
4. Beat the ricotta, mascarpone and egg together, then mix in the chicken, the drained vegetables, herbs and pepper.
5. Using a slotted spoon, remove and discard the flavourings from the cool milk. Whisking constantly, sprinkle the flour into the milk. When incorporated, return the pan to medium heat and bring the sauce to a boil, whisking. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, whisking frequently, for about 3 minutes.
6. Preheat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Spread a layer of sauce on the bottom of a 30 x 20 cm (13 x 9 in.) ovenproof dish. Use a teaspoon to fill the cannelloni with the chicken mixture. Arrange in a single layer on the sauce in the dish. Spoon the remaining sauce over. For the topping, mix together the breadcrumbs and Parmesan and sprinkle over the chicken and ricotta cannelloni. Bake for 35–40 minutes or until the topping is golden and the sauce bubbling. Leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

preparation time 35 mins
cooking time 55 mins
serves 6

Nutritional informationPER SERVING
447 calories
32 g protein
17 g total fat
9 g saturated fat
120 mg cholesterol
43 g total carbohydrate
13 g sugars
3 g fibre
372 mg sodium
Adding vegetables to cannelloni fillings will “stretch” a small quantity of protein food, such as chicken. Frozen vegetables are better than canned vegetables as they retain more vitamins. However, when fresh or frozen vegetables are not available, use canned vegetables to contribute fibre, flavour and bulk.