Recipe Source: Daspin, Eileen. "A Family Feast." Martha Stewart Living, number 193, December 2009 pp. 236-7
My friends are always surprised to learn that I subscribe to Martha Stewart Living. I guess that the state of my house doesn't exactly call to mind the perfection associated with Martha Stewart. The fact that I also don't decorate and don't garden and have all the artistic ability of a drunken vole, which prevents me from crafting successfully, probably also contributes to the sense of wonder that overcomes my friends when they see the pile of hoarded Martha Stewart magazines. The thing is, sure, I don't do any of those things, but I want to. I lack two things: talent and attention span. But every month I get very excited for my Martha magazine to come, because for one hour (in the tub on Sunday night), I do all of those things and more. I am every bit as good as Martha. For one hour.
Anyway, I don't tend to make a lot of the recipes I find in the magazine, but sometimes I find one that I absolutely have to make. This was one of those recipes. I'm not even really sure why I needed to make it, but when I saw it I developed this strong craving for these cannelloni. I think it's the sage. I love the smell and flavor of sage. Of course, I made a few changes. I did not feel up to the task of making my own fresh pasta. I did feel up to the task of purchasing egg roll wrappers from NaSoya, which worked just as well and resulted in less of a mess. The original recipe called for a mix of "winter herbs" like rosemary and parsley in addition to sage. I wanted none of these, although rosemary is a favorite herb around here. I wanted sage, so sage it was. (See, you can make these decisions when you cook things yourself. In a restaurant, you'd be stuck with what the chef thought the most people would like.) Finally, the original recipe called for a Parmesan Cream. I had originally intended to make this a good amount of time before I did make it, and the ingredients for the Parmesan Cream went off. This is why I developed the Velour Sauce (like a veloute, but cheesy). I used it here.
The result was pretty tasty, if I do say so myself. The sage could have come through a little more strongly, but that's okay. My guests really seemed to enjoy these too. Maybe the wrappers were a little chewier than I'd have liked, but that's a matter of degrees. I served them as a side dish to an unexpectedly spicy beef rib main course, so they had the additional benefit of relieving the pain from the rib sauce for those guests who are unaccustomed to spice.
Oh - Don't be alarmed by the presence of whiskers in the photo. The cat didn't actually get to touch the cannelloni, much to her chagrin.
Sage and Ricotta Cannelloni (serves 8; approx. $0.83/serving)
1/3 package (approx.) NaSoya Egg Roll Wrappers (I haven't tried any other brands)
15 ounces part-skim ricotta cheese
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
1/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (use crushed red pepper if you can't find Aleppo pepper)
1 recipe Velour Sauce
5/8 ounce grated peccorino cheese
Equipment:
- Bowl
- Small dish of water
- Roasting pan
- Small saucepan (if you're re-warming the velour sauce; if the sauce was made just before use don't worry about this.)
- Combine the ricotta, garlic, sage and Aleppo pepper in a bowl. Mix very thoroughly. (This can be done up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerated.)
- When you're ready to make the cannelloni, preheat your oven to 350 and lubricate your roasting pan with your lubricant of choice. I used cooking spray, but if you're one of those people who always managed to set her kitchen on fire with cooking spray use olive oil or something like that. (And yes, I do know someone who always sets her kitchen on fire when she uses cooking spray. It's uncanny.)
- Put about 1/4 cup of the ricotta filling in the middle of an egg roll wrapper. Fold down the top, then the bottom. Fold the left side over, then the right side. It should look vaguely rectangular. Use the water to seal, if necessary.
- Place the parcel seam-side down in the roasting pan. Repeat until all of the filling is used.
- Pour the Veloute Sauce over the cannelloni, then sprinkle the peccorino on top.
- Bake around 40 - 50 minutes, or until golden and somewhat crusty.
- Serve warm.