Cheese and scallion cannelloni in a rich béchamel sauce is the epitome of Italian home comfort, where large tube-shaped pasta becomes the perfect vessel for a luscious filling. The name itself comes from the Italian word 'canna', meaning 'reed', and these hollow cylinders are truly meant to cradle the delicate blend of stretchy suluguni (a Georgian melting cheese), creamy ricotta, and the vibrant freshness of spring greens. As the dish simmers in a thick cream sauce, the aroma of nutmeg and melting cheese fills the kitchen, promising a wonderful textural contrast between the firm pasta and its velvety interior. This is a brilliant alternative to everyday pasta shapes, transforming accessible ingredients into a stunning culinary masterpiece.
Finished dish: delicate cannelloni with stretchy suluguni, sprinkled with fresh herbs and paprika. The perfect Italian-style home dinner.
Ingredients
- 6 cannelloni tubes (10 cm / 4 inches long)
- 60 g (2.1 oz) scallions
- 2 large eggs
- 100 g (3.5 oz) soft cream cheese
- 60 g (2.1 oz) suluguni (Georgian semi-hard melting cheese, or low-moisture mozzarella)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Olive oil
Ingredients for the Sauce
- 250 ml (1 cup) heavy cream
- 20 g (0.7 oz) unsalted butter
- 10 g (0.35 oz) vegetable oil
- 15 g (0.5 oz) all-purpose flour
- Onion, nutmeg, and salt to taste
How to Make Cheese and Scallion Cannelloni
First, let’s prepare the filling for the cannelloni. Finely chop the scallions. If you’d like, you can also fold in some fresh parsley, cilantro, or blanched spinach to elevate the flavor.
First, finely chop the fresh scallions. They will become the fragrant foundation of our filling.
Hard-boil the eggs, then finely chop or grate them, and add them directly to the scallions.
Add finely chopped hard-boiled eggs to the scallions; this gives the filling a satisfying richness and tender texture.
Grate the suluguni (a Georgian semi-hard melting cheese, similar to low-moisture mozzarella) and add it to the scallion and egg mixture. Reserve a small handful for the final touch. Any semi-hard cheese works here, but suluguni gives that perfect, stretchy pull when melted.
Grated suluguni melts beautifully. Do not forget to reserve a little cheese to sprinkle over the dish at the very end.
Fold in the soft cream cheese. Ricotta or any mild, creamy cheese works perfectly to bind the filling together.
Soft cream cheese or ricotta will make the filling wonderfully creamy and help bind all the components together.
Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then mix everything thoroughly until well combined.
Thoroughly mix all the ingredients, seasoning with salt and freshly ground black pepper to your liking.
Parboil the cannelloni until they are al dente. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil, gently drop in the pasta, and simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring gently so they do not stick together.
Boil the pasta in plenty of salted water until it reaches an al dente state.
Drain the boiled pasta in a strainer and drizzle lightly with olive oil to prevent sticking.
Drain the cannelloni in a strainer and be sure to drizzle them with olive oil so they do not stick together.
Once cool enough to handle, stuff the cannelloni tubes with the cheese filling, arrange them on a board, and let’s move on to the sauce.
Carefully stuff the cooled tubes with the prepared cheese mixture and arrange them on a cutting board.
In a deep skillet, heat the vegetable oil and butter, then add the finely diced onion (about 1-2 tablespoons).
For the sauce, sauté finely chopped onions in a blend of vegetable oil and butter until soft and translucent.
Once the onion softens and turns slightly golden, sprinkle in the wheat flour. Toast the flour in the fat for a couple of minutes until it takes on a light golden hue.
Sprinkle wheat flour over the onions and toast it for a couple of minutes until it takes on a light golden color.
Gradually whisk in the heavy cream, using a wooden spatula to smooth out any lumps. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer, season with salt to taste, and add a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.
Gradually pour in the heavy cream, whisking well to ensure the sauce turns out smooth and lump-free.
Carefully nestle the stuffed cannelloni into the simmering sauce. Cover the skillet with a lid and let it gently simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
Submerge the stuffed tubes into the hot sauce and cook covered on low heat for 10 minutes.
To finish, sprinkle the reserved grated cheese over the pasta. You can pop the skillet under a preheated broiler for a few minutes to get a golden crust, or simply cover it again so the cheese melts beautifully into the sauce.
Sprinkle the dish with the remaining grated suluguni so it melts and forms an appetizing crust.
Garnish the cheese cannelloni with fresh scallions, a crack of black pepper, and a dusting of smoked paprika. Serve immediately while piping hot. Bon appétit!
Right before serving, garnish the hot cannelloni with scallions and smoked paprika for a vibrant flavor pop.
While traditional Italian cannelloni is often made from fresh pasta sheets, using high-quality dry tubes simplifies the process without sacrificing its noble flavor. To give your presentation a polished finish, dust the hot pasta with a pinch of smoked paprika; its delicate aroma highlights the creaminess of the sauce, while the vibrant red specks create a stunning visual contrast against the emerald scallions. It is best to serve this dish immediately, ensuring the cheese inside remains perfectly elastic and gooey. By the way, similar pasta tubes are sometimes called manicotti, which are essentially large, 3-centimeter thick sleeves ideal for generous stuffing. If you feel adventurous, try adding sautéed mushrooms or spinach to the filling for exciting new textures. Store any leftovers in an airtight container, but keep in mind that pasta absorbs sauce as it sits; when reheating, stir in a tablespoon of cream to restore the dish's original lusciousness.
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