Lamb & Rosemary Cannelloni
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
While cannelloni takes a little more effort than just spooning sauce on cooked pasta, I think there’s something really nice about the whole process of making it, and it comes out of the oven looking rather impressive. I’ve used crème fraîche instead of fussing around with making a cheese sauce – it’s readily available in the soft cheese section at the supermarket.
Ingredients
600-800g lamb mince
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 cup pumpkin, grated
1 cup spinach, chopped
¾ cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped (plus extra for garnish)
200g crème fraîche
3-4 fresh lasagne sheets
1 cup cheese, grated – mozzarella, cheddar, Parmesan or a mixture
Method
Preheat the oven to 180c.
Heat a dash of oil in a large saucepan over a very high heat. Add the lamb in two batches to brown, breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon. Drain and set aside in a bowl.
Reduce the heat to medium and add another dash of oil to the pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes until the onion is soft. Add the lamb back to the pan along with one can of tomatoes, stock, cayenne pepper, sugar, rosemary, pumpkin and spinach. Simmer for about 10 minutes until reduced to a thick sauce. Stir through the mint and season to taste.
Cannelloni
Cover the base of the baking dish with the second can of tomatoes. Bring a pot of water to the boil. Remove from heat then soak the unfolded pasta sheets for a few minutes to soften. Gently remove with a wooden spoon and cool slightly, then cut into rectangles. Spoon a line of the mince near the short edge of a rectangle and roll it up. Place the roll seam side-down in the baking dish. Repeat until the dish is full. Spread the crème fraîche over the cannelloni tubes to cover them, sprinkle with the cheese, season with salt and pepper and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
If need be, grill for a few minutes just before serving to get it golden and bubbling on top. Just before serving, sprinkle with extra mint leaves. Serve with a crisp seasonal salad dressed with vinaigrette.
Hi Chelsea, this sounds amazing! I live in the U.K. and we don’t get pumpkin over here. What can I use as a substitute?
Hi Chelsea,
Making this tonight. I only have baby spinach in the fridge, can I use this instead of normal?
Cheers!
Made these tonight and they were delish! No way near as pretty as the picture but that doesn’t matter. Will add this one to the list of regulars! Thanks Chelsea.
Hi Chelsea. Can you use tortillas wraps and roll them up instead of cannoli tubes or pasta. Thanks.
I haven’t tried that but I think it would be fine!
Hi Chelsea, my family absolutely loves this recipe! It is great to take to potluck dinners as well. Always a hit! Thank you for sharing xx
This is absolutely yummy, I added a little more cayenne pepper just cause we like the heat, so fresh with the mint. 5 stars from me
Hi Chelsea, Could you use beef mince instead of lamb mince? Love your recipes!! :)
You sure could!
Made this tonight and it was delicious! We are kiwi’s living in Hong Kong and its nice to find some recipes to try that remind us of home. I made the chicken and macaroni cheese dish last night and loved that too.
I don’t cook much in HK but heading home soon and looking for great recipes to share with friends and family. Will try more.
Fiona
this meal is not really for the people on a budget but it sounds nice but not fussed on mint so leave that out (-:
Hi ya, have you got any tricks or tips for stuffing canneloni tubes that are premade? Everytime I try, the filling just falls out the bottom lol or the whole thing is a nightmare!
I imagine the trick is getting it back OUT of the dish and still looking photo-worthy… :-) Still gonna give it a try though… mmmm looks tasty…
This sounds amazing! We have a couple of dairy-intolerant peeps in our family so often miss out on delicious creamy pasta dishes – but I’ve recently discovered that I can make a delicious bechamel subbing chicken stock for milk and cheese, so will be trying it with that instead. Yuuuuuuum :)
Hi Chelsea,
I am going to try to make this :) I do not eat lamb so would beef work with the rest of the ingredients you have?
Thanks
Hi Chels, I notice you add the cayenne pepper with the tomatoes and stock, I always brown the spices with the meat so I don’t get the granules floating thru the sauce. is this not always the case? do I not need to do this?
HI David, if that works for then then by all means! It’s all about personal preference :)
Hi, I am not sure if I am reading the recipe wrong – but where do we use the second can of tomatoes?
Thanks for noticing that Janene, I’ve fixed the method now, sorry! It goes in the bottom of the dish :)