Recipe: Cannellonis (beef and spinach filled crepes with bachamel and marinara sauces)

CANNELLONIS
Servings 6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
10 ounces spinach, cooked
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound ground beef, lean
2 tablespoons parmesan, grated
2 eggs
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, ground
12 cr pes
2 cups cream sauce
1 cup marinara sauce
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a saut pan. Add onion, garlic and parsley and cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Do not brown. Add chopped cooked spinach.

In a skillet, brown ground beef in remaining olive oil.
Chop in a processor. Add grated Parmesan, eggs, oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Blend in the spinach mixture.

Divide filling in cr pes. Roll to enclose filling.

Coat the bottom of a baking dish with marinara sauce. Arrange stuffed cr pes in baking dish. Spoon the cream sauce and tomato sauce over cr pes. Sprinkle with parmesan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until brown.

---

BECHAMEL SAUCE
(Also called CREAM SAUCE or WHITE SAUCE)

This basic French white sauce is made by stirring milk into a mixture of butter and flour, called roux. The thickness of the sauce depends on the proportion of flour and butter to milk. The amount of flour determines the thickness of the sauce.

For a thin sauce: 1 tablespoon each of butter and flour per 1 cup of milk;

For a medium sauce: 2 tablespoons each of butter and flour per 1 cup of milk;

For a thick sauce: 3 tablespoons each per 1 cup of milk.

Makes about 1 cup:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cups milk, heated
salt and freshly ground white pepper

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but don't let it brown - about 2 minutes.

Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring it to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more.

Remove from the heat. To cool this sauce for later use, cover it with wax paper to prevent a skin from forming.
Cheese Sauce. Stir in 1/2 cup grated Cheddar cheese during the last 2 minutes of cooking, along with a pinch of cayenne pepper.

---

MARINARA SAUCE
Makes: about 2 cups

2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium-size onion (yellow or white)
3 whole cloves of garlic
two 28-ounce cans of tomatoes (whole peeled or crushed), or 2 pounds fresh tomatoes
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon fresh chopped basil
1 whole bay leaf

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil to your cooking pot. Heat the oil on medium heat for about a minute, then add half of the minced or crushed garlic. When the garlic starts to brown (this will happen in a few seconds), add the onions and stir. Let the onions cook uncovered for about a minute, stirring them frequently, then add the salt, the pepper, the remaining garlic, and all the spices except the bay leaf. Stir them all together. Continue to cook the mix uncovered until the onions are soft and slightly translucent. Do not brown. This usually takes about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, and bay leaf. Stir and bring sauce to a slow boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer uncovered. Simmer at least one hour or until sauce is thick. Serve.

To store sauce:
Let the sauce cool at room temperature for at least an hour. If kept in a well-sealed container, it should be fine for about a week in the fridge. You can also freeze your sauce for up to a few months in a well-sealed container.