Chicken Cannelloni With Cheese Sauce

Recipe Ingredients

1 3/4 cups	109g / 3.8oz	Chicken - cooked & diced
1 lb	454g / 16oz	Lasagna noodles
2 tablespoons	30ml	Butter or margarine
2 tablespoons	30ml	Olive oil
2		Garlic - finely
1		Onion - finely chopped (small)
4 oz	113g	Mushrooms - chopped
1 oz	28g	Egg - beaten (large)
2 tablespoons	30ml	Heavy cream or half-and-half
1/4 teaspoon	1.3ml	Thyme
1/2 teaspoon	2.5ml	Salt
1		Spinach - cooked until
		Cheese Sauce
3 tablespoons	45ml	Butter or margarine
4 tablespoons	60ml	Flour
1 1/2 cups	355ml	Chicken broth
3 cups	711ml	Half-and-half
		Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup	146g / 5.1oz	Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup	73g / 2.6oz	Mozzarella - cheese, grated
		Spaghetti sauce

Recipe Instructions

THE NIGHT BEFORE (or early in the day): Cook lasagna noodles in 6 qts. boiling water for 5-7 minutes or until tender; drain, wipe noodles dry with a clean/dry cloth, lay flat on waxed paper.

While noodles are cooking, melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Saute onion, garlic and mushrooms until they're tender; add remove from heat; set aside.

Place cooked chicken in food processor and pulse until chicken resembles a tuna salad mixture. Combine chicken with the onions, garlic, mushrooms and the fat in which they were saute ed; add egg, cream and seasonings. Add spinach (cooked) and mix well.

Cut each lasagna noodle into 2 or 3 pieces--each piece should be 3 to 4 inches long; place a tablespoonful of the chicken filling on each piece and roll into a tubular shape. If you don't want to make canneloni, just layer the ingredients like you would for lasagna.

Arrange rolls next to each other, one layer deep, in a buttered baking dish; set aside while you prepare the cheese sauce.

CHEESE SAUCE: Melt butter then add the flour and cook for a few minutes to get rid of the floury taste. Gradually add the chicken broth, whisking constantly to prevent lumps; add cream, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth; remove from heat. Stir in 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese and mix well.

I like to use, both, red and white sauce on this one. I spoon over a strip of the white sauce, next to it I spoon on some red; keep doing that across the dish until the sauce covers the noodles. The red/white pattern makes it look pretty and gives the dish a little more flavor. It also cuts back on some of the fat.

Spoon sauce over cannelloni in baking dish; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese, if used; refrigerate until you're ready to bake it.

BEFORE SERVING: Preheat broiler; place cannelloni 4-5 inches from heat and broil for 10 minutes or until sauce bubbles and top browns. If you'll be making lasagna, bake in a 350-degree oven for 25-30 minutes, or until it's bubbly and the top is browned a bit.

Source:
Michele Urvater

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