Traditional Italian cannelloni filled with slow-simmered Bolognese meat sauce and baked under a cheesy béchamel. A rich dish of beef chuck, root vegetables and tomatoes that tastes even better after it has had time to rest.
- Category
- main course
- Portion
- 400 g
- Yield
- 10 servings
- Nature (TCM)
- warming
TCM: Slow-braised beef and cheesy béchamel are nourishing and warming.
Ingredients
Cannelloni and filling
- Cannelloni pasta – 2.5 packs (approx. 500 g)
- Ground beef (chuck) – 830 g
- Beef tallow – 3 tbsp (approx. 50 g)
- Carrots – 550 g
- Onions – 330 g
- Celery stalks – 330 g
- Tomato paste – 70 g
- Diced tomatoes (canned) – 1.4 l
- Stock (beef or vegetable) – as needed for thinning
- Salt and black pepper – to taste
- Bay leaves – 2
- Olive oil – for finishing after cooking (optional)
Cheesy béchamel
- Butter – 70 g
- All-purpose flour – 70 g
- Milk – 1.7 l
- Cheddar, grated – 220 g
- Salt, white pepper – to taste
- Nutmeg – a pinch
For baking
- Grana Padano, grated over the top – 130 g
Method
Bolognese sauce
- Soffritto: cut the carrots, onion and celery into small cubes.
- Brown the ground beef in hot tallow, then set it aside.
- In the same pot, sauté the soffritto over low heat for about 30 minutes, until it softens and caramelizes.
- Add the tomato paste, stir and let it cook briefly.
- Return the meat to the pot and add the diced tomatoes, seasoning and a little stock.
- Simmer slowly over a low flame for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally and adding stock as needed.
Cheesy béchamel
- Melt the butter in a pot, add the flour and stir until you have a pale roux.
- Gradually pour in the milk, whisking into a smooth sauce.
- Add salt, white pepper, nutmeg and finally the cheddar, letting it melt into the sauce.
Filling and baking
- Fill the cannelloni with the prepared Bolognese sauce (using a teaspoon or a piping bag).
- Pour a thin layer of béchamel into the bottom of a baking dish and arrange the first layer of filled cannelloni.
- Alternate layers of sauce and béchamel until the dish is full.
- Cover the top with the remaining béchamel and bake in an oven preheated to 180 °C for about 30 minutes.
- Sprinkle with grated Grana Padano and bake another 15 minutes, until the top turns golden.
- Once out of the oven, let it rest for 10 minutes, then cut into portions.
Serving
Cut into portions of approx. 400 g. Drizzle with olive oil before serving, if you like.
Key ingredients
- Beef
- Quality protein, haem iron and B12; slow braising makes it easier to digest.
- Tomatoes (peeled / passata)
- Lycopene (an antioxidant), the umami base of sauces.
- Carrot
- Beta-carotene (vitamin A) for skin and eyesight, fibre, natural sweetness.
- Onion
- Prebiotic fibre for the gut flora, anti-inflammatory flavonoids.
- Butter
- Milk fat; carries flavour and rounds things off.
- Grana Padano cheese
- A hard aged cheese; concentrated umami and calcium.
- Spinach
- Iron, folate and lutein; wilts quickly and is easy to digest.
Why it’s good for the body
- Beef provides quality protein, heme iron and vitamin B12.
- Slow braising improves digestibility and develops the flavors.
- The vegetable soffritto adds fiber and a sweetish depth.
Traditional and functional notes on the ingredients — not medical claims.
Notes
- For a bolder flavor, add a little red wine to the Bolognese while it simmers.
- Grana Padano can be replaced with Parmesan; cheddar can be combined with mozzarella.
- It tastes best the next day, after resting, when the flavors have come together.