Canneloni al Forno

Two Olive Garden knock-off recipes. I haven’t yet tried… bit I WILL!

VERSION 1

Our baked cannelloni comes with a trio mixture of beef, pork, and chicken. They’re deglazed in a sprightly red wine for added umami. But to balance out those strong flavors, we’ve cooked up a light and savory cream sauce. The meat and parsley cream sauce are then stuffed into the cannelloni pasta and plated on top of some marinara. And don’t just throw those remaining sauces away, because we’re topping it off on the dish to make it extra rich. The dish is then baked for a few minutes to liven up the flavors before they’re topped with parsley and served.

It may look like a lot for just a single meal. The stuffing alone is made with meticulous effort. But we can assure you the end result will be positively worth it!

Ingredients

• 10 oz cannelloni pasta, (1 box), cooked and cooled
• 24 oz marinara sauce, (1 jar)

For Meat Mixture:

• 1 cup red onion, finely chopped
• ½ cup celery, finely chopped
• ⅓ cup carrot, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¾ lb ground beef
• ¾ lb ground pork
• ½ cup red wine
• ¼ cup beef broth
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp salt, to taste
• 1 tsp ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 egg yolks

For Cheese Mixture:

• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• ¾ cup parmesan cheese, grated or powdered, divided
• 1½ tbsp parsley, finely chopped

To Serve:

• 1½ tbsp parsley, chopped

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic until soft and translucent.
2. Add the beef and pork to the pan. Stir well and break up any large chunks of meat. Continue sautéing until no longer pink.
3. Deglaze with red wine and reduce for about 1 minute before adding in the beef broth, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf.
4. Allow the pan to come to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let cook for 15 additional minutes, then discard the bay leaf.
5. Season to taste with salt and ground pepper. Adjust accordingly and set aside.
6. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
7. Whisk in the flour for 2 minutes before adding the milk.
8. Let simmer for about 5 minutes or until thickened before adding the parsley and ½ cup of parmesan cheese. Set aside.
9. Transfer the meat mixture into a large mixing bowl along with the egg yolks. Stir well to combine, then add in the cheese sauce.
10. Spread the marinara sauce into the bottom of your preferred baking dish.
11. Take the cooked cannelloni noodles and spoon about ¼ cup of the beef and cheese mixture down the center of the cannelloni.
12. Lay the stuffed cannelloni in a single layer at the bottom of the dish.
13. Repeat with the remaining marinara sauce and stuffed cannelloni, stacking the noodles as needed.
14. Pour any remaining beef and cheese mixture on top followed by the remaining marinara sauce. Sprinkle the top with the remaining parmesan cheese.
15. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 10 minutes, then set into the broiler for 2 minutes.
16. Remove once the top is golden brown and garnish with parsley.
    
    https://recipes.net/main-dish/pasta/copycat-olive-garden-cannelloni-recipe/

VERSION 2

The trick to this Olive Garden-style Cannelloni al Forno recipe is processing the ingredients in a blender to achieve the smooth texture this dish is known for. This copycat recipe is spot on in the flavor department too.

Ingredients

• 1 cup red onion, diced
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1/3 cup carrot, diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 pound ground veal
• 1 pound ground mild Italian sausage
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 1/4 cup beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt, to taste
• Pepper, to taste
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup Parmesean cheese, freshly ground
• Fresh pasta (highly recommended but could use dried cannelloni tubes)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 (16-ounce) jar high quality marinara sauce
• 1/2 pound Fontina cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 5 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup Parmesean cheese, grated

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet. Add onion, celery, and carrot, and cook over moderate heat until softened.
    
2. Add the garlic, and cook 1 minute. Add veal, pork, and chicken. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is no longer pink. Drain excess liquid and grease thoroughly.
    
3. Add wine, and reduce for 1 minute. Stir in broth. Add herbs, bay leaf, and salt and pepper.
    
4. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Uncover, and reduce until almost dry. Discard bay leaf. Set aside to cool.
    
5. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan set over moderately low heat. Whisk in flour for approximately 2 minutes. Whisk in milk, grated nutmeg, and salt and pepper.
    
6. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in parsley and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
    
7. Transfer the cooled meat mixture to a large bowl. Mix in egg yolks. Mix in the cheese and parsley sauce. Set aside to cool.
    
8. In a medium size bowl, combine flour and salt. Make a well in the flour, add the slightly beaten egg, and mix. Mixture should form a stiff dough. If needed, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons water.
    
9. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough for about 3 to 4 minutes. With a pasta machine or by hand roll dough out to desired thickness (recommend the #5 thickness setting on hand-crank pasta machine). Use machine or knife to cut into 4- x 5-inch strips.
    
10. In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the noodles a few at a time until al dente. This should take only a minute or two with fresh pasta. Transfer to a bowl of cold water. Spread the noodles in one layer on paper towels to drain.
     
11. Place 1/3 of the cooled meat and parsley sauce mix into a blender or food processor. Pulse or blend until a smooth texture is achieved, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining mixture until all filling ingredients are processed.
     
12. Prepare Fontina Cheese Sauce by placing Fontina, cream, butter and Parmesan in a double boiler or a bowl in a saucepan of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until the cheeses have melted and the sauce is smooth and hot.
     
13. Cover bottom of 9 x 13-inch baking dish with 1/4 inch of marinara sauce. Spoon 1/4 cup of the filling down the center of one noodle, and roll the noodle to enclose the filing. Transfer the cannelloni, seam side down, to 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles and filling, arranging in single layer.
     
14. Ladle the remaining marinara sauce on one side of the cannelloni, leaving the other 1/2 of each tube without sauce. Spread the Fontina cheese sauce on the other 1/2 of the cannelloni and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese.
     
15. Bake at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes, or until bubbling. Run under the broiler about 4 inches from the heat for 2 minutes, or until golden.

http://www.recipelion.com/Restaurant-Recipes/Olive-Garden-style-Cannelloni-al-Forno