Spinach & Mushroom Cannelloni

I have never made a cannelloni. Its been on my to-do list for a while now.

So I made it this week and it was really delicious! I never knew it would turn out so good!!

The best part is it is healthy and colourful! A meal in itself.. If you like lasagne you will undoubtedly like this.

Cannelloni is simply a thick tubular pasta with a filling inside and sauces outside. Alternatively, lasagne rolled like thick cigars/rolls with filling inside is the same as the ready made tubular ones! This is baked just like lasagne! Lasagne follows layering, these are rolls, rest remains the same!

So lets start with it!

Serves: 2 Preparation Time: 20 mins Cooking Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

For the Creamy Cheese Sauce (1 cup):

1 heaped tbsp of butter

1 tbsp of maida/all purpose flour or sifted wheat flour

¾ cup milk

2-3 tbsp of fresh cream (store bought), I used Amul's

3 tbsp grated cheese, cheddar (preferably parmesan)

½ tsp ground nutmeg/jaiphal

salt & pepper as per taste

For the Rustic Tomato Sauce (1 cup):

2 tomatoes, blanched and puréed 

2 tbsp celery, finely chopped

3 tbsp carrots, finely chopped

2 tbsp garlic, finely chopped

3 tbsp onion, finely chopped

4-5 basil leaves, finely chopped

1 tbsp oregano

2 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper as per taste

For the Spinach & Mushroom Filling:

1 cup spinach leaves (¾ bunch or 150 gms), washed, blanched & shredded

1 cup button mushrooms, sliced

2 tbsp garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper as per taste  

For the Cannelloni:

4 Lasagne sheets, home-made or store bought
4 cups water

2 tbsp oil

salt as per taste

For Garnish:

2 tbsp Mozzarella cheese, grated

1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Method:

For the Cannelloni:

1. Take the water in a sufficiently deep and wide vessel and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add 1 tbsp oil and enough salt. Then add in 4 lasagne sheets.

2. Follow the cooking instructions on the packet, usually 8-10 mins. Once cooked, immediately drain it and apply the balance 1 tbsp oil and leave aside.

For the Creamy Cheese Sauce:

1. Heat the butter in a pan. Once melted, add the sifted flour and cook for 30 -45 secs.

2. Now add the milk to this mixture IN 3 PARTS to avoid lumps while stirring continuously.

3. Once the milk has uniformly integrated with the flour and butter and thick, you can now add the cream, cheese,  salt, pepper and nutmeg.

4. Let this cook for about a minute and leave it aside.

You may preheat the oven at 200°C for 15 mins now.


For the Spinach & Mushroom Filling:

1. Chop the veggies and keep aside.

 

2. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the garlic and sauté for 45 secs. Mix in the blanched spinach and mushrooms. Stir well.

3. Add salt and pepper and let it cook. Mushrooms will start giving out water. Cook it until almost all the water is gone.

4. Now add about 3 tbsp of our creamy cheese sauce to this mixture and mix well.

5. Get it off heat and keep aside.

For the Rustic Tomato Sauce:

1. Chop the veggies and keep them ready.

2. Heat the olive oil in a pan. Once hot, add the garlic and onions. Sauté for 45 secs.

3. Now add in the carrots and celery. Let it cook for about 2 mins until soft.

4. Now add in the basil and tomato purée.Let it cook for 3 mins. Then proceed to adding oregano, salt and pepper. Cook for more 2 mins.

5. The colour of the sauce would have changed by now. Get it off heat and keep aside.

Assembling the Cannelloni:

Remember to preheat the oven at 200°C for 15 mins before you assemble.

1. Now in a baking dish, place a few basil leaves randomly (optional). Then spread a generous layer of the rustic tomato sauce.

2. Divide the filling into 4 equal portions. In a separate plate or a flat surface, place one lasagne sheet and place one portion of the filling at either end of the sheet. Carefully roll and place it on the sauce in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining 3 lasagne sheets.

3. Once all have been placed, spread the remaining creamy cheese sauce covering the cannelloni. Sprinkle some grated mozzarella cheese and bake for 10 -12 mins at 180°C.

4. Once ready just sprinkle some chopped parsley and serve.

Enjoy!!

Notes & Tips:

1. For Jains:

• The creamy cheese sauce remains as it is.
• In the rustic tomato sauce, you may omit the onions and garlic. Celery and carrots too. Instead just add 1-2 bay leaf, tomato purée  basil (7-8) and 1 tbsp mix herbs (oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary etc.) Let it boil for 3-5 mins and keep aside.
• For the Spinach filling, instead of garlic add ½ tsp finely chopped ginger. You may substitute mushrooms for ¾ cup boiled corn kernels.
• Proceed as it is!

2. Alternatively, spinach can be combined with cottage cheese or corn.

3. I boiled the lasagne in the same water that I used for blanching the spinach! 

4. The creamy cheese sauce is similar to our regular white sauce. We just add in the cheese and fresh cream to make it richer!

Leave your experiences in the comments section! I'd love to know how did you like it!

Tomato and Moong soup

Another soup and a healthy one at that!

Its always fun to experiment with tomatoes. They complement different combinations of foods making it so versatile.

So this is Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe. I have made my version of this recipe.

Since having our plain old tomato soup can often get boring so here I tried experimenting with 2 different ingredients that will change its flavour and also make it healthier - Carrots and split green moong dal.

Its also a good soup to overcome those sick days as its light on the stomach and yet nutritious.

So here we go:

Serves: 3 - 4 Preparation Time: 10 mins (& soaking time) Cooking Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

3 tbsp split green gram/ dhuli moong daal, soaked for ½ hr
1 medium sized carrot, roughly sliced
1 medium sized tomato, roughly chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, sliced roughly
1 ½ tbsp oil or butter
½ tsp red chilli powder
Salt as per taste
1 tsp black pepper
Water as prequired

For Garnish
2 tbsp chopped coriander
1 tbsp grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Method:

1. Soak the moong dal and chop the tomatoes and garlic.

  

2. Now heat some oil/butter in a pressure cooker and sauté the garlic and carrots for 2 mins.

3. Now add the tomatoes and sauté until soft for further 2 mins.

4. Now mix in the thourougly washed moong daal, 1 cup water, salt and mix well. Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.

 

5. Once cooled, blend the mixture and add water according to desired thickness. Do not strain.

 

6. Check for salt and season with pepper and red chilli powder.

7. Garnish with coriander and/or cheese.

Relish this thick soup just like that on a diet evening or with a light dinner.

Notes & Tips:

1. Jains should omit the garlic and add 1 tbsp of ginger and proceed with the recipe as it is.

Carrots can be omitted as well. If doing so, add 2 tomatoes instead.

Red Bellpepper & Tomato Soup

One of the classic soups with a twist that tastes absolutely delicious!

I am sorry I forgot to take pictures while making this soup! So I just have the final dish for you!

So here's the recipe:

Serves 4. Preparation Time: 10 mins. Cooking Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

1½ cups tomatoes, chopped.
1 cup red bell-pepper/capsicum, chopped
½ cup onion/shallots, chopped
2 tbsp garlic, crushed
2 to 3 cups veg. stock/water
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Oregano

For Garnish:

Grated Cheese

Method:

1. Chop the onions, tomatoes, bell-pepper and keep aside. Crush the garlic.

2. Heat the oil in a deep vessel. Add onions & garlic and sauté for 2-3 mins.

3. Once soft, add the bell-peppers and some salt and let it cook for another 3 mins.

4. The bell-peppers should now be softer. Then add in the tomatoes and oregano. Cook for 5-7 mins till they are absolutely soft and smashable.

5. Now remove it off heat and blend it all into a smooth purée. Use some water (½ cup) for blending.

6. Sieve the blended purée. Add the water, salt & pepper as required and simmer for 1 min. Serve hot with some grated cheese. Enjoy!!

Notes & Tips:

1. If you have parsley at hand, you may use that for garnish.

2. My Jain readers may skip onions & garlic altogether. Instead, heat oil and add 1-2 bay leaves and then add the capsicum. And proceed step 3 onwards. 

Borscht

Monsoons are the perfect time to gorge on healthy soups. Borscht is one of them. It is a Russian soup, the vegetarian recipe given by a Russian friend. Originally prepared with beef, beef stock & veggies, this is the vegetarian version.

I love this deep colour of the soup along with the variety of veggies. 
At large people avoid beetroot, this iron rich soup is not only a healthy but a delicious change.


Serves 6. Preparation Time: 15 mins. Cooking Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

For soup:
2 medium sized Beetroots, peeled
1 medium sized potato, peeled
2 small carrots, peeled
1 large onion, sliced
1/4 cup cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup tomato, finely chopped
4-5 tbsp chopped parsley
3 tbsp green capsicum, thinly sliced (optional)
1 tbsp vinegar (optional)
salt  & pepper as per taste
2 tbs oil
3-4 cups water or vegetable stock

For Garnish:
Few sprigs of Parsley
Sour cream or Hung curds

Method:

1.Borscht needs the potatoes, carrots, beetroot & capsicum in juliennes. All of them shall be cut raw. Slice the onions & cabbage. Chop the parsley along with the stalk.

2. Heat the oil in a deep vessel and sauté onions, capsicums & cabbage. After about 2 mins, once softened, add remaining veggies except parsley.

3. Now mix in the salt and cook for another 2 mins. Now add in the water or stock whichever is available. Let all the vegetables cook and release their flavours for about 15 mins. 

4. You can check if the vegetables are cooked. They should be cooked and not mashy. Once ready add the pepper, vinegar (optional) and the chopped parsley and cook for about a minute.

5. The soup is now ready to be served. Garnish with a tbsp of sour cream or hung curds if available & a few sprigs of fresh parsley. You may serve it with garlic bread or soup sticks.
Enjoy!

Notes & Tips:

1. You can also add in chopped celery for some flavour. Add it while you sauté onions.

2. This soup is slightly watery, hence you can add some cornflour slurry if you wish to thicken.

Spicy Tomato Chutney

So for the yummy bhajias, my sister made this spicy tangy tomato relish! Its one of my uncle's recipe that she improvised and is a must try!
Gives a different edge to the crispy bhajias with its different combination of flavours.
You can try this with a lot of other fried snacks too! 

Makes: 1 bowl. Preparation time: 5 - 10 mins. Cooking Time: Nil

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tomato, roughly quatered
1 small carrot, blanched, roughly chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic, halved
1 inch ginger, peeled, roughly chopped
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1 tsp green chilly paste (optional)
1/2 tsp lemon juice (optional)
salt
coriander for garnish

Method:

1. Roughly chop tomato, carrot, garlic, ginger and put them in a mixer/food processor. 
Add to it the remaining ingredients and blend into a smooth paste using some water.

 

 

So easy! The chutney is ready! Enjoy!

Notes & Tips:

1. You may adjust the proportion of tomato & carrots to suit the tang along with some sugar

2. My jain readers may omit the garlic and proceed.

3. Remember to use blanched carrots as we are not cooking this chutney. Its for an added texture & flavour. 

4. This chutney can be stored frozen for upto 2-3 weeks!