For this recipe I make a sauce and meatballs and then crush the meatballs in order to make the cannelloni filling.
Meatballs:
600 grams of lean ground beef
2 eggs
1/4 cup parsley chopped
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup breadcrumbs/ panko (not seasoned)
Salt and pepper
Sauce:
1/2 onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 cans of whole tomatoes San Marzano (plum tomatoes *get them whole - this is important)
Oregano, salt, pepper
4-5 Fresh basil leaves
Other:
Lasagna sheets
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
Grated parmesan cheese
Grated mozzarella (approimately 1 cup)
Directions
This recipe will make approximately 15-18 meatballs and approximately 12 cannelloni.
Set the oven to 350 degrees. To make the meatballs, combine all the ingredients and roll into golf ball sized meatballs. If they are too loose add more breadcrumbs and if they are too dry then add a bit more ricotta cheese. Place meatballs on a baking sheet on parchment paper and cook for 10 mins until slightly browned on the outside.
While meatballs are in the oven, use a hand blender to crush the tomatoes with their juices.
Sauté oil, garlic and onion in a pot until soft and then add the blended tomatoes. Simmer for 10 minutes and then carefully add the meatballs to the sauce and let simmer half covered for approximately 40 minutes. Add salt, pepper, oregano and fresh basil leaves. Periodically, mix the sauce and meatballs very carefully to ensure meatballs don't break. If the sauce is too think you can add a 1/4 cup of water.
While meatballs are cooking in the sauce, prepare your lasagna sheets. Different types will require different ways to prepare, if they are fresh you do not need to boil them, if they're in a package - follow the instructions on the package to boil before adding your filling. I cut the lasagna sheets in half widthwise.
When the meatballs are done, take them out of the sauce and crush them with a fork into a bowl.
Add 1/2 cup of ricotta, a couple tablespoons of sauce and grated parmesan cheese and mix together.
Use a glass baking pan and put sauce to cover the bottom. To make the cannelloni, place the filling in the sheet on one end from top to bottom, then roll and stick together. Place in the glass baking pan and keep filling and rolling the cannelloni until complete. Cover the rolled cannelloni with sauce and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Take off the aluminum foil and add grated mozzarella, put back the oven for 10 minutes.
Once they're done in the oven, wait to cool before removing from the pan with a spatula! Add more sauce and parmesan on top and enjoy!