Beef Cannelloni in Bechamel Sauce

Hi everyone! Here you have my recipe for today. This is the way I cook cannelloni for my son. He really loves this dish. It takes a little time to prepare it, but the result is worthwhile and this is very easy to cook. Homemade cannelloni are much more healthy and tastier than those from supermarkets. I often make this dish the day before and pop in the fridge, just to bake in the oven 30 minutes before serving it. 

Ingredients:

(Serves 4)

For the filling:
600 g minced beef
16 cannelloni tubes
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tomatoes
300 ml passata (mashed) tomato
100 ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

For the bechamel:
500 ml milk (cold)
3 tablespoons of plain flour
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
150 g grated cheese

Difficulty and cooking time:

Easy
1 hour and a half

Method:

Finely chop the onion and garlic

Wash, peel and chop the tomatoes

Pour 100 ml olive oil on a frying pan, stir- fry the chopped onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Then add the mince, salt to taste and cook over a medium heat, stirring from time to time until the mince is golden brown.

When the mince is done add the chopped tomato and cook for 5 minutes stirring thoroughly.

Then add the passata (mashed) tomato

Stir well, simmer for 5 minutes and save this filling for later.

Boil the dried cannelloni tubes in salted water for 2 minutes

Drain and refresh the pasta tubes with cold water. (Lasagne pasta sheets can also be used instead, just put the filling on them and make these rolls yourself)

Put 50 ml of olive oil in a saucepan or pot over a low heat. Add 3 tablespoons of flour and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring thoroughly until flour turns golden.

Pour in the cold milk, stirring thoroughly to prevent lumps.

Salt to taste, simmer for about 10 minutes stirring continuously and the bechamel sauce for the topping will be ready.

Fill the pasta tubes using a teaspoon

 Add a little olive oil on a baking tray and lay the stuffed cannelloni on it.

Pour on the bechamel sauce, then sprinke with your favourite grated cheese

Preheat the oven to 180ºC, bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve piping hot.

  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

See you soon,

María

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Spaghetti in Brown Bechamel Sauce

Hello everyone! Today I cooked this pasta dish for dinner. It's simple, tasty and it only takes 20 minutes to prepare it. My son loves pasta and I'm always looking for different flavours. This is a recipe my mum cooked for us when we were children. This creamy and luscious sauce perfectly combines any pasta type. I've used spaghetti, although you can use macaroni, penne or spirals as well.

Ingredients:

(Serves 4)

400 g. spaghetti

1 small onion

2 cloves of garlic

100 ml. extra virgin olive oil

250 g beef or pork mince

2 tablespoons of flour

2 tablespoons of beef extract

400 ml cold milk

Salt

Black ground pepper

Difficulty and cooking time:

Easy

20 minutes

Method:

Cook the spaghetti in a large pot with boiling salted water until al dente (about 4 minutes), stirring well during the first moments of cooking, so the pasta won´t stick together.

Drain the pasta using a colander and rinse well, so the pasta won't stick together.

Finely chop the onion and garlic.

Put the olive oil in a frying pan and stir-fry until the onion is golden brown.

Then add the mince, salt and pepper to taste and cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally until the mice is done.

Reduce heat, add 2 tablespoons of flour and stir thoroughly using a wooden spoon or fork.

Then add the cold milk, stirring thoroughly to prevent lumps.

Simmer for about ten minutes, stirring constantly until you get a creamy consistency.

Then add 2 tablespoons of beef extract and stir well.

This will provide colour to our sauce, and also a delicious touch of flavour.

Put the spaghetti together with the sauce and stir thoroughly over a low heat and our dish is ready.

Serve hot. 

I hope you like it!
See you soon,

María

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Pasta with Chorizo

Hi again! Today I cooked this pasta dish for you all. I hope you like it as much as I do. It takes very little time to prepare it. This is a fast, delicious and easy recipe. It's ideal for a dinner with friends and it's also a different way of cooking pasta. This pasta has been cooked using our spicy homemade sauce, so it has a special and tasty flavour, different from other recipes in which pasta is boiled. The hollow center of  some types of pasta, such as macaroni or penne allow to hold the sauce, so it is perfect for a recipe like this just because of its shape.

Ingredients:

(Serves 4)

500 g. macaroni or penne
200 g. Spanish chorizo
1 red pepper
1 onion
1 leek
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoonful of hot paprika
500 ml. boiling water
300 g. passata (mashed) tomato
100 ml. extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Grated cheese
Basil leaves

Difficulty and cooking time:

Easy
20 minutes

Method:

Finely chop the red pepper, onion, garlic and leek.

Put the extra virgin olive oil on a large pot, add the chopped vegetables and a little salt. Stir fry until the onion is golden brown.

In the meantime dice the chorizo ring.

Add the diced chorizo and stir-fry for a couple of minutes.

Then add the mashed tomato.

Stir and add a teaspoonful of hot paprika.

Pour half a litre of boiling water into the pot.

Add the pasta, stir thoroughly and cook over a medium heat for 8 minutes, until pasta is "al dente".

And our pasta dish is ready.

Serve and add the grated cheese (I used Spanish Manchego cheese on this occasion although any aged, hard cheese can be used instead)

Decorate with basil leaves and serve hot.

Enjoy it!
See you soon,

María

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Garlic Prawns Spaghetti

Hi again! Here you have my recipe for today. This dish is very easy and fast to cook. Pasta is great for a dinner with friends. If you like seafood this healthy and tasty dish will be the perfect choice.
A couple of tips for this recipe. I always add some chilli peppers that will give a light spice flavour to the dish and never overcook pasta. Just boil spaghetti until al dente (firm to the bite).

Ingredients:

(Serves 4)

300 g raw peeled king prawns
400 g. spaghetti
3 cloves of garlic
150 ml. extra virgin olive oil
3 chilli peppers
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
Salt

Difficulty and cooking time:

Easy
20 minutes

Method:

Finely chop the garlic and parsley.

Cook the spaghetti in a large pot with boiling salted water until al dente (about 4 minutes), stirring well during the first moments of cooking, so the pasta won´t stick together.

Drain the pasta in a colander and rinse well.

Put the olive oil in a frying pan, add the chopped garlic and the chilli peppers and cook over a medium heat until the garlic is golden brown.

Then add the raw prawns, salt to taste and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the prawns are done, add the chopped parsley and stir.

Then add the spaghetti.

Cook over a medium heat for a couple of minutes, stirring thoroughly.

The dinner is ready!

Enjoy it!
Hopefully see you soon,

María

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