Chicken Cannelloni With Cheese Sauce
Ingredients
1 3/4 cup chicken, cooked & diced
1 lb lasagna noodles
2 tbsp butter or margarine
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 large egg, beaten
2 tbsp heavy cream or half-and-half
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1 bunch spinach, cooked until
CHEESE SAUCE
3 tbsp butter or margarine
4 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
3 cup half-and-half
1 salt and pepper to taste
1 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup (to 1 cup) mozzarella cheese, grate, d (opt)
1 spaghetti sauce (homemade or store, bought) (opt)
Preparation
THE NIGHT BEFORE (or early in the day): Cook lasagna noodles in 6 qts.
boiling water for 5-7 minutes or until tender; drain, wipe noodles
dry with a clean/dry cloth, lay flat on waxed paper.
While noodles are cooking, melt butter and olive oil in a large
skillet. Saute onion, garlic and mushrooms until they're tender; add
remove from heat; set aside.
Place cooked chicken in food processor and pulse until chicken
resembles a tuna salad mixture. Combine chicken with the onions,
garlic, mushrooms and the fat in which they were sauteed; add egg,
cream and seasonings. Add spinach (cooked) and mix well.
Cut each lasagna noodle into 2 or 3 pieces--each piece should be 3 to
4 inches long; place a tablespoonful of the chicken filling on each
piece and roll into a tubular shape. If you don't want to make
canneloni, just layer the ingredients like you would for lasagna.
Arrange rolls next to each other, one layer deep, in a buttered baking
dish; set aside while you prepare the cheese sauce.
CHEESE SAUCE: Melt butter then add the flour and cook for a few
minutes to get rid of the floury taste. Gradually add the chicken
broth, whisking constantly to prevent lumps; add cream, salt and
pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth; remove
from heat. Stir in 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese and mix well.
I like to use, both, red and white sauce on this one. I spoon over a
strip of the white sauce, next to it I spoon on some red; keep doing
that across the dish until the sauce covers the noodles. The
red/white pattern makes it look pretty and gives the dish a little
more flavor. It also cuts back on some of the fat.
Spoon sauce over cannelloni in baking dish; sprinkle with remaining
Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese, if used; refrigerate until
you're ready to bake it.
BEFORE SERVING: Preheat broiler; place cannelloni 4-5 inches from
heat and broil for 10 minutes or until sauce bubbles and top browns.
If you'll be making lasagna, bake in a 350-degree oven for 25-30
minutes, or until it's bubbly and the top is browned a bit.
Servings: 1
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Our Chicken Recipes section offers something for everyone, from chicken soup to roast chicken.
“That fellow Béchameil has all the luck! I was serving breast of chicken á la crème more than 20 years before he was born, but I have never had the chance of giving my name to even the most modest sauce.”
Duke of Escars, 17th century
“Do not be afraid of simplicity. If you have a cold chicken for supper, why cover it with a tasteless white sauce which makes it look like a pretentious chicken dish on the buffet table at some fance dress ball?”
X. Marcel Boulestin, chef.
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