9/30/2010

Chicken Cannelloni

 One of my all time, favorite Italian dishes is Cannelloni, filled in a variety of ways, and topped with an appropriate complement for whatever the filling happens to be.  This past Sunday we had roast chicken, so a stuffing of chicken and some cheese was a great way to use the left-overs.

Also, using the extra crepes from Sunday's breakfast made it an even more obvious choice.  Though, I must admit, it was one of the reasons I did make those crepes.  My very favorite breakfast, fruit-filled crepes.  Yes!

If using cold crepes, put them on a plate, with a bit of waxed paper on top, and nuke for less than half a minute, just enough to warm them up a bit.  Next  fill with chopped, cooked chicken, mixed with some cream cheese or sour cream,  and a little shredded cheese or ricotta.  Then top it all with your marinara sauce.  Bake about 15 minutes and that's it.



Chicken Cannelloni

2-3 Servings

2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
1/2 cup sour cream or cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, crumbled feta, ricotta or jack cheese (I used Ricotta Salata)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
9-10 crepes
1 1/2 cups Marinara Sauce
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Prepare your "red sauce" first and keep it warm.  Then pre-heat oven to 350 F, warm the crepes, unless you are making them specifically for this dish. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the chopped chicken with the remaining filling ingredients.

Spread a bit of sauce on the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish, and begin filling and rolling your cannelloni (you can also make cannelloni noodles and use those) with about a 1/4 cup of stuffing in each.  Top with remaining sauce, and bake for about 15 minutes.  Pull the pan out and sprinkle the topping cheese on, then serve.  I steamed a kohlrabi and its greens for a side, but some garlic bread and a small salad would be great too.

This delicious, if I do say so, dish is my contribution for our potluck Presto Pasta Nights dinner, hosted this week by our own indefatigable founder, Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.  Check out the round-up for creative pasta dinner ideas.

7 comments:

Ruth Daniels said...

I am seriously drooling. What a fantastic dish. Thanks for sharing with Presto Pasta Nights.

Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...

These look excellent! I so need to make some crepes for these! Thanks!

Katerina said...

Cannelloni is the absolute comfort food. Chicken is my favorite. I love your dish.

tigerfish said...

Good tips about the cold crepes. Thanks.

Joanne said...

I love that you went the traditional route for making cannelloni, which is to use crepes! These sound fantastic!

Heather S-G said...

I have been wanting to make Cannelloni w/ crepes for a long time (too lazy, ya think??)...and I'm in awe of yours...they sound amazing!

Bergamot said...

canneloni is one of my fav pasta dishes. this looks scrumptious and with crepes it is easier to make.