Lately i’ve been thinking a lot about italian food, largely due to the episodes of Everybody Loves Raymond that have me keeping me awake till the wee hours of the morning. Food plays a large role in this dysfunctional Italian family- be it whether they’re sitting down for a good albeit rowdy meal or having a food fight, it no doubt brings and keeps this family together. Marie, Ray’s mum, who is an excellent cook always has a dish or two and sometimes even a whole spread ready just in case someone drops by unannounced. As such is the magic of tv shows, especially a terrific one that has you in stitches for most of its duration, more often than not, i’m longing for a meatball sandwich or a slice of lasagna by the end of each episode.
So when i came across a cannelloni recipe in the latest issue of Woman’s Day Everyday Food, i knew it was a sign that i had to make it to quash my tastebuds’ plead for some italian cuisine.
I have to say, this really hit the spot. The crumbled ricotta holding together minced sausages and an variety of vegetables, all wrapped in a thin layer of fresh lasagna sheet and topped with freshly made tomato sauce and tasty cheese, there was just so much texture and flavour in this one. I especially love how well the fresh, crisp vegetables complemented the slightly salty bits of sausage and tangy tomato sauce.
I personally really enjoyed putting this dish together, making the sauce and then the filling, knowing it was all going to be part of something bigger and hopefully better. Thankfully my efforts paid off 
While this is not something you can whip up in thirty minutes, it certainly is by no means a dish you have to slave over the stove for. If you want, make the tomato sauce and chop all the vegetables the night before, like i did, and you can easily put everything together and have dinner ready within an hour of getting home the next day.
Sausage, Mushroom and Ricotta Cannelloni [adapted from Woman's Day Everyday Food's Spring issue]
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped rosemary
800g canned Italian tomatoes, with juice
White wine
A knob of butter
1 onion, chopped
1 sausage of your choice (i used herb and garlic, recipe calls for chorizo)
4 garlic cloves, crushed
Half a small eggplanted, cubed
100g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
200g fresh ricotta
1/2 grated parmesan
1/2 small green capsicum, chopped
Thinly sliced tasty cheese
4 fresh lasagna sheets, halved breath wise then halved again
- To make tomato sauce Heat oil in a large saucepan. Fry onion and garlic till soft. Add celery and rosemary. Cook for about 2 minutes.
- Stir in tomato with juice and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes till sauce becomes thick. Season to taste and add white wine to thin it a little.
- To make filling Melt butter in a medium frying pan. Fry onions and garlic till soft. Add eggplant and capsicum, fry till soft. Add sausage and mushrooms in and cook till mushrooms are tender. Remove from heat.
- In a medium bowl, combine mushroom mixture with ricotta and half of parmesan.
- Preheat oven to 180C. Pour half of tomato sauce over base of a shallow ovenproof dish. Top with half of tasty cheese slices, then sprinkle parmesan cheese.
- Place a bit of filling in the centre of one lasagna sheet and roll to enclose. Place cannelloni seam side down on the bed of tomato sauce and cheese. Repeat with remaining filling and lasagna sheets. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over cannelloni, then pour remaining tomato sauce over and top with remaining tasty cheese slices. Bake for 15 minutes, covered loosely with foil then another 10 minutes uncovered or till lasagna sheets are al dente. Serves 4
