Recipe: Creamy Cannelloni with Chicken and Almonds

Creamy Cannelloni with Chicken and Almonds

22 precooked dried cannelloni shells (see Note)
2 chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese

Sauce:
3 tbsp butter
1 chopped onion
3 tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 cup light cream
1 salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup grated Swiss cheese

Filling:
1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 pkg frozen spinach, thawed and drained
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

Sauce:
Melt butter in a saucepan. Saute onion until tender. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Add stock, cream, salt and pepper. Cook until boiling and thickened, 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the Swiss cheese. Cover with waxed paper and set aside.

Filling:
Combine chicken, spinach, Ricotta, almonds, Parmesan, egg and nutmeg. Blend all ingredients together.

Assembly:
Place filling in the pre-cooked shells. Pour a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of a baking dish. Arrange the stuffed cannelloni in a single layer over the sauce. Sprinkle with the chopped tomatoes, and pour the sauce over the cannelloni. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cover with Aluminum foil.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-70 minutes or until pasta is soft and the top bubbles.

Note: The kind of pasta used in this dish is dried, but is usually called "oven ready". It is believed that it is coated in egg whites to enable it to cook right in the oven when well-covered in sauce. If you make the dish ahead and refrigerate, the cooking time will be cut down because the pasta will soften in the refrigeration.

Yield: 6 Servings
Source: Recipes Only Cookbook of the Canadian Home Makers magazine