Basil Chicken Cannelloni For My Suzy Poo

This one is for my dear friend Suzy. She is moving away and asked for me to keep posting things on here for her to make for her man. Lol. I have made this for the suzmeister before and she liked it so... here you are my love.

Basil Chicken Cannelloni on Wilted Spinach

Preparation Time 10 minutes Cooking Time 20 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

1 3/4 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves

1 small white onion, cut into quarters

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 1/4 tbs plain flour

365ml milk

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

450g lean chicken breast mince

1 120g pkt instant dried cannelloni tubes

30g (1/4 cup) shredded light mozzarella

1 bunch English spinach, stems trimmed, washed

Method Position an oven shelf in top rack of oven. Preheat oven to 230°C. Brush a 17 x 23cm shallow (base measurement) baking dish with 1/2 tsp of oil. Place 1 1/2 cups of basil leaves, onion, garlic, flour, 85ml milk, remaining oil, 1/2 tsp salt in bowl of a food processor. Process until basil is chopped. Combine mince, 1/4 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper and 1 tbs of basil mixture in bowl. Fill each cannelloni tube. Place in a single layer in the baking dish. Place remaining milk and basil mixture in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until mixture thickens. Pour sauce over the cannelloni and sprinkle with mozzarella. Bake in preheated oven for 18 minutes or until cannelloni are tender when pierced with a knife. Meanwhile, place the spinach with water clinging to the leaves in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, covered, shaking pan occasionally, for 2-3 minutes or until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Place spinach on plates, top with 3 cannelloni tubes and remaining basil.

Recipe by Jane Charlton Australian Good Taste - July 2002

• Try using fresh lasagne sheets (you can buy them in packets in the dairy case at the supermarket) instead of the crusty old dried cannelloni tubes. You just put the filling in the centre of one sheet of lasagne pasta and roll 'em up! Easy as and they taste SO much better and don't go crusty and dry out when cooked.
• I found that adding a can of chopped tomatoes over the top of the dish along with the basil sauce makes it more of a 'meal'.
• I like serving this dish as an entree at dinner parties, as it is simple and tasty and gets the taste buds tingling. Mwah ha ha!!!!

Mmm... Italian Beefy Goodness

Mmmm... Italian food at it's best. Try this dish and you will look like a true Italian Mama.

Beef Braciole (Italian Beef Rolls)

Ingredients (serves 4)

6 x 1cm-thick slices beef scotch fillet or topside steak, trimmed

2 tbs finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tbs finely grated parmesan cheese

2 tbs toasted pine nuts

6 slices prosciutto, halved widthways

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 cup (125ml) dry red wine

2 cups tomato passata* (sieved tomatoes)

1/4 cup sliced basil leaves, shredded

Method

Using a meat mallet or a rolling pin, pound the steaks between sheets of baking paper to about 5mm thick. Cut steaks in 2 widthways. (You can ask your butcher to do this for you.) Combine the parsley, garlic, parmesan and pine nuts in a small bowl and season with sea salt and black pepper. Lay the prosciutto slices over each steak and scatter with parsley mixture. Roll up to enclose and secure with toothpicks. Heat the olive oil in a large frypan over medium-high heat and cook the rolls for 3-4 minutes, turning, until browned all over. Transfer to a plate and cover loosely with foil. Add wine to hot pan and boil until reduced by half. Add the passata and bring to the boil, then simmer over low heat for 5 minutes or until thickened. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Return rolls and any juices to pan, then scatter with basil and cook for 3 minutes or until heated through. Slice rolls in half and serve with soft polenta (see related recipe), if desired.

Notes & tips * Available in bottles from supermarkets.

delicious. Magazine - May 2006

Vegetarian can be VERY tasty!

This would hands down be the TASTIEST zucchini slice I have ever tried. It is simple to make too. The fresh herbs mixed with the feta and Parmesan cheese make this slice perfect for lunch or dinner. It is suggested to serve this slice with a Potato, Avocado, Pecan and Watercress salad. Just cook and cut some baby potatoes in half, slice the avocado, dry roast and crumble the pecans and lay them all on top of some watercress. I then top this salad with a dressing made up of some mayonnaise and a teaspoon of Dijon or wholegrain mustard and a bit of olive oil to thin the dressing down if need be. The salad compliments this slice perfectly and makes it a deliciously healthy well balanced meal.

Zucchini, Feta and Mint Slice

Ingredients (serves 6)

Polenta or breadcrumbs, to dust

700g (about 8) zucchini, coarsely grated

5 eggs

1/2 cup (125ml) olive oil, plus extra to brush

1 cup chopped chives

1/2 cup roughly chopped mint (or dill or basil)

220g feta, crumbled

150g freshly grated Parmesan

1 cup (150g) self-raising flour

10 cherry tomatoes, halved

Watercress, avocado, potato and toasted pecan salad, to serve (optional)

Method Preheat oven to 160°C fan-forced (180°C not fan-forced). Butter a 5cm-deep,18cm-square cake pan and line with baking paper. Butter paper and dust with polenta or crumbs, then tap out excess. Place zucchini into a colander, weigh down with a plate and drain for 10 minutes. Whisk eggs in a large bowl, then whisk in olive oil, chopped chives and chopped mint or other herbs. Press down firmly on the plate over zucchini to squeeze out liquid, then stir zucchini into eggs. Add most of the feta (reserving a little for top) and the Parmesan, then season with salt and pepper. Add flour and mix with a metal spoon until combined. Spread batter into the pan and sprinkle with reserved feta. Gently press the cherry tomato halves, cut-side up, onto the surface. Bake for 45-50 minutes until the top is springy when pressed and it looks set when you insert the point of a knife into the centre. Cool in pan for 10-15 minutes, then invert the pie onto a board. Peel away paper, then sit your serving platter on top and re-invert the pie onto it. Brush tomatoes with a little extra oil and serve warm or at room temperature, with the salad if desired.

From Delicious Magazine, November 2005 , Page 58 This Recipe is by Belinda Jeffrey