Some pasta dishes go viral like the feta and tomato bake and Gigi Hadid’s spicy vodka pasta. But one pasta dish that is not regularly cooked or goes viral – is cannelloni.

‘Cannelloni’ refers to the pasta’s tubular shape, meaning ‘large reeds’. In The Cooks Playground, Jenny cooks up this staple from traditional Italian cooking. Watch her stuff the tubed pasta with a decadent filling, slathered in a rich tomato sauce and oven baked to perfection.

Be sure to tune in to The Cooks Playground with Jenny Morris ever Saturday at 8:30 AM

https://youtu.be/STVQWv60lQk

Cheats Cannelloni

SERVES 4

The Pancakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup water
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

STEP 1
Whisk flour and eggs together in a large mixing bowl; gradually add in milk and water, stirring to combine. Add salt and melted butter; beat together until smooth.

STEP 2
Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour 1/4 of a cup of the batter into the pan and swirl the pan so that the batter coats the pan evenly.

STEP 3
Cook until the top of the pancake is no longer wet and the bottom has turned a light holden brown, this takes about 1 to 2 minutes. Now run a spatula around the edge of the pan to loosen the pancake then flip and cook until the other side has turned light brown, just about another minute.

Stir Fried Peppers and Zucchini

• Olive oil for frying
• 4 washed Zucchini cut into strips
• 1 large red pepper cut into strips
• 2 cloves finely chopped garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat some olive oil in a pan and lightly fry the zucchini, peppers and garlic, season with salt and pepper to taste. Dont over cook!

The Cheese Sauce

• 50g butter
• 4 tbsp cake flour
• 500ml warm milk
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon mustard of your choice
• 100g grated mature cheddar cheese
• 30g grated parmesan cheese ( optional)

STEP 1
Heat the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour, let it cook fir a minute and then whisk in the milk.

STEP 2
Season with salt and pepper and nutmeg.

STEP 3
Cook while stirring until the mixture thickens, stir in the cheeses until fully melted and incorporated.

The Tomato Sauce

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, seeded and diced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely grated
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon chili powder (optional)
• 2 x 400g cans whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 small handful fresh parsley, chopped

STEP 1
Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat and add the peppers and onions and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent.

STEP 2
Stir in the garlic, spices and cook for 2 minutes.

STEP 3
Add in tomatoes, stock and tomato paste; season with salt and pepper. Cook tomatoes until broken down.

STEP 4
Stir in the parsley and remove from the heat.

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Let’s Build the Cannelloni!

• Pre-heat the oven to 180C
• Spoon some tomato sauce onto the base of an oven-proof dish
• Lay the pancakes out onto a clean flat surface and cover each one with a little tomato sauce, top with grated cheese, some peppers and zucchini.
• Spoon over a little cheese sauce, roll up and place onto the base of the dish.
• Continue until you filled and rolled them all up and place in the dish.
• Spoon over the remaining tomato and cheese sauces, sprinkle with grated cheese.
• Bake until golden and bubbling.
• Serve with a large mixed salad.

Tune in to The Cooks Playground with Jenny Morris ever Saturday at 8:30AM.