Christmas Cannelloni

Christmas Cannelloni

Culinary Tools:

  • Bamboo Cutting Board
  • Chef’s Knife
  • 6-quart Dutch Oven
  • Pasta Server and Ladle (6-piece Kitchen Tool Set)
  • Senior Colander
  • 12-inch Gourmet Skillet
  • 3-quart Mixing Bowl
  • 8-inch Skillet
  • 8-inch Gourmet Skillet
  • Double Griddle
  • Pastry bag

Cannelloni Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon white onion, finely chopped
  • 8 ounces manicotti pasta
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon garlic minced
  • 2 pounds lean ground turkey
  • ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1(8oz) bar cream cheese, low-fat
  • 1 cup cranberries, dried
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Béchamel Sauce:

  • ½ cup red bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 cups skim milk
  • 1 teaspoon chicken base

Roux Sauce:

  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 5 tablespoon all purpose flour

Cannelloni Procedure:

  1. Chop onion, garlic and bell pepper.
  2. Fill ¾ of the pot with water, cover with the Redy-cook ® valve open and bring to a boil at medium-high temperature. When valve whistles (17 minutes), add salt to taste and manicotti pasta one by one; slightly stir with the Pasta Server and cook for 6 minutes. Drain with the Senior Colander and soak in cold water.
  3. Add olive oil in 12-inch Gourmet Skillet, and preheat at medium-high for 2-3 minutes, or until the oil is very hot. Reduce heat to medium; add onion and garlic. Incorporate ground turkey; season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 6 minutes, while constantly stirring. Make sure to crumble turkey with spoon.
  4. When turkey is fully cooked, turn off stove. Place turkey in the bowl, and add 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, cream cheese and cranberries; stir well until all ingredients are in small pieces and well mixed, so they can easily pass through the pastry bag.

Béchamel Sauce Procedure:

  1. Blend well milk, heavy cream, chopped bell pepper and chicken base.
  2. Pour blended mixture into the 8-inch Skillet, bring to simmer at medium-high heat; be sure to stir frequently. Turn off stove and remove skillet.
  3. In the 8-inch Gourmet Skillet, add butter and cook at medium temperature for 2 minutes or until melted, dissolve with a spoon. Add flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes or until Roux sauce becomes smooth and light blond colored. Turn off stove and keep stirring; be sure mixture does not turn dark color. Remove skillet from burner.
  4. Place skillet, where Béchamel Sauce was made, back on stove and turn heat to medium-high. Little by little, pour Roux sauce while constantly stirring with a whisk. Bring to a light simmer (about 3 minutes). Keep stirring for another 30 seconds. Turn off stove and remove skillet. 
  5. Pour the béchamel sauce over the cannelloni, sprinkle the remaining Parmesan cheese and bake for 15 minutes.

Stuffing and Baking:

  1. Preheat oven at 350 °F.
  2. Fold both ends of the pastry bag on your hands so the filling won’t come out, this can make difficult the process. Add some of the turkey mixture inside the pastry bag.
  3. Grab a cannelloni and stir a bit; place it on one of the sides of the Double Griddle.

Chef’s Note: If you want to give it a spicy flavor to the filling, when cooking turkey meat add ¼ cup finely chopped jalapeno. Garnish with your favorite herb.