My pans and pots

Our Jun 2012 Daring Cooks host was Manu  from Manu's Menu . She challenge us to make cannelloni. This was the first time I have made cannelloni from scratch and was delicious.I made cannelloni di margo but I used swiss chard with red stalk instead of spinach. I always thought that making cannelloni pasta is so difficult and I don't like store-bought cannelloni tubes so I didn't eat cannelloni. It is actually quite easy to make pasta even if you don't have pasta maker. Thanks Manu for this challenge .
So, let's make some cannelloni :) 




First you need to make egg pasta. 

For egg pasta:
Ingredients (to make enough cannelloni for 4 persons):
100 grams all-purpose flour
1 large egg
Directions:
1. Put the flour and eggs in a food processor and mix. When the dough looks like crumbs, pour it onto the bench top sprinkled with a little flour. Knead well by hand until you obtain a smooth dough. Make it into a ball, wrap it in cling wrap and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
 2. Now you are ready to make your egg pasta. Cut out a piece of egg pasta dough and flatten it into a rectangular shape with your hands.  
3.Use a rolling pin to get a very thin sheet of dough and then cut it into rectangles.


 4. Put a large pot with salty water on the fire and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta sheets in it for 1 minute. Do this in batches (I use a shallow but large pot and I cook them in 1 layer, so I am sure they do not stick together). Remove them with a slotted spoon and put them on a clean tea towel to cool down.


Making a filling: 
500 gr   raw spinach ( I used swiss chard with red stalkI used)
400 gr  ricotta
2 cups (120 gr) Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated, divided
Salt and pepper
1 pinch nutmeg
1 large egg

1. Cook spinach  for 2 minutes in salty boiling water. Drain  and run some cold water on them to cool it down quickly (this will help them retain a nice green colour). Then squeeze spinach with your hands to get rid of as much liquid as possible and  cut  finely with a knife. 

2. Put the ricotta in a bowl, add the minced spinach, egg, 1½ cups (85 gms/3 oz) of grated Parmigiano Reggiano, nutmeg, salt and pepper and mix until well combined
 3.Take one sheet of cooked pasta and put 1/8 of the filling along the long side of the rectangle. Roll it over to make a cannellone. Do the same with remaining pasta sheets. 



Now you need to make bechamel sauce. I made fake bechamel sauce because I 'm daring cook on a diet. :)
Fake bechamel sauce
Ingredients (enough to make cannelloni for 4 people):
2 cups (500 ml) milk, hot
 50 gm  all-purpose  flour
1 pinch salt
1 pinch nutmeg
 Directions:
  Add the flour into a milk  and whisk constantly until well incorporated. Add salt and nutmeg and cook it on a low flame for 10 minutes or until it thickens.




Assembling cannelloni:   


  
Take a big enough oven dish to fit all your cannelloni tightly. Spray it with some cooking oil (or melted butter) and pour some béchamel sauce on the bottom. Spread it well, especially in the corners. Put the cannelloni in the oven dish on 1 layer.
Cover the cannelloni with the remaining béchamel sauce and sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup  of Parmigiano Reggiano.
Bake them in a preheated moderate oven 180°C for 20 minutes, then grill them at 200°C for another 5 minutes.
Serve immediately






Ovomesečna domaćica Daring cooks igrice Manu sa bloga Manu's menu nas je izazvala da napravimo kanelone. Nikada ranije ih nisam pravila jer nemam masinu za testenine a i mislila sam da je proces dugotrajan i zahtevan. O, kolko sam glupa bila. Čak i bez mašine, pravljenje je jako lako a neverovatno su ukusni. 
Prvo pravimo pastu.
Potrebno je :
( za cetiri osobe) 
100 gr brašna 
1 veće jaje
Jaje i brašno ubacite u multipraktik i kratko mutite dok ne dobijete mrvičastu masu. Prebacite na radnu površinu i mesite dok ne dobijete tvrdje testo. Ostavite da se odmara 10-15 minuta , pokriveno prozirnom folijom. Nakon odmaranja , oklagijom razivijte testo što tanje, na svega nekoliko 2-3 milimetara i isecite na pravougaonike 10x15 cm.  
U posoljenoj ključaloj vodi , kuvajte list po list da se ne bi slepili  po minut-dva. Ako su vam listovi deblji i duže. Kuvane listove vaditi  supljom kasikom i stavljati  na čistu krpu da se prohlade. 
Fil: 
500 gr svežeg spanaća ili blitve 
120 gr rendanog parmezana
400 gr rikote 
1 jaje
so, biber
prstohvat muskatnog orasčića 

Spanać ( ili u mom slučaju blitvu) operite i u vreloj vodi kuvajte 2-3 minuta. Ocedite u cediljci pa stavite  pod hladnu vodu da prekinete kuvanje. Sačekajte da se još malo prohladi jedno 5 minuta pa rukama ocedite vodu iz spanaća što više možete. Kuvani spanać iseckajte nožem na dasci pa u dubljoj posudi promešajte sa rikotom , jajetom i 80 gr rendanog parmezana.  Posolite, pobiberite i dodajte prstohvat sveže rendanog muskatnog orasćića. 
1/8 fila u vidu valjka stavite na jedan kraj kuvanog lista  testenine i zarolajte. Ponavljate dok ne utrosite svu testeninu i fil.


Sada napravite bešamel. Ja sam pravila lažni bešamel tj samo sam ukuvala brašno i mleko bez prethodnog prženja brašna i začinila muškatnim oraščićem ,posolila i pobiberila. 
Potrebno je : 
500 gr mleka 
50 gr brašna 
Brašno i mleko sam žicom umutila da se dobro sjedine i na tihoj vatri kuvala 10-tak minuta dok nisam dobila odgovarajuću gustinu. 
Vatrostanu posudu, koja je dovoljno velika da svoje kanelone rasporedite u jednom sloju , premazite uljem ili puterom i rasporedite trećinu besamela po dnu posude. Naročito obratite paznju da besamela bude i po uglovima posude. Poređajte kanelone, prekrite preostalim bešamelom i parmezanom. Pecite  u predhodno zagrejanoj rerni na 180 °C pecite ih 20 minuta. Zatim ih pecite još 5 minuta na 200 °C da se odozgo dobije lepa zapečena korica. 
Služite odmah.
Prijatno :)

Evo jedne lepe letnje supice. Gaspačo je hladna supa od paradajza i raznog povrća. Potiče iz Andaluzije, ali je  veoma popularna u celoj Španiji kao i u Portugalu . Idealna je za vrele letnje dane,  lako se pravi a veoma je osvežavajuća. Povrće se u ovoj čorbici termički ne obradjuje što je čini  dobrim izvorom vitamina koji su po prirodi termolabilni. Gaspaćo je u stvari tečna paradajz salata. :)


Za dve porcije je potrebno:
2 veća paradajza (500 gr)
1 manji krastavac (100 gr)
1 /2 crvene babure ( 100 gr)
2 supena kašika maslinovog ulja
1 1/2 kafena kašičica šeri  ili balzamik sirćeta
1 čen belog luka
2 mlada luka ili pola manje glavice crvenog luka
so, biber po ukusu
Za garniranje :
1 kriška starog hleba
1 supena kašina maslinovog ulja

Priprema :
Paradajz ogulite , očistite od semena  i naseckajte na krupnije komade. Krastavac ogulite , očistite od semena i naseckajte. Papriku takodje naseckajte , kao i mladi luk . Svo povrće uključujući i beli luk ubacite u blender i izmiksajte u homogenu masu. Ako vam je supa pregusta, dodajte malo hladne vode da je razredite. Začinite sa maslinovim uljem i sirćetom. Posolite i pobiberite po ukusu.  Većina recepata će vam savetovati da ovu supicu sada procedite kroz cediljku, ali ja neću. Ne vidim zašto bi smo se odricali svih biljnih vlakana kojima obiluje ova supica. Obzirom da smo je dobro izblendovali, već je kremasta. Dobro rashladite u frižideru . Neposredno pre posluživanja krišku hleba prepecite na zagrejanom ulju i iseckajte na kockice. Čorbicu sipajte u zdelice i odozgo rasporedite  prepečeni hleb.
Prijatno :)







Gazpacho is a cold tomato-based, raw vegetable soup, originating in the southern region of Andalucía, often defined as a liquid salad, most indicated for the hottest days of summer.

Ingredients: 
(2 servings)

For soup:
500 gr ripe and chopped tomato 
2 spring onions 
2 tbsp olive oil 
1 cucumber 
1/2 red belly pepper
1 1/2 tsp sherry vinegar 
1 garlic clove
salt, pepper


For garnishing:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 slice of  bread

Place chopped tomato, cucumber,onion,garlic,red pepper  in the blender. Blend until the mixture becomes a thick liquid.  Taste for acidity. This will vary with the sweetness of the tomatoes. If it’s not balanced enough, add a little more vinegar. Add the olive oil and season with salt to taste. Re-blend, then pour the gazpacho  into a pitcher.  Some recipes will suggest to pass gazpacho through a strainer, but I won't. Don't throw away all that great dietary fibers. Place in the fridge to cool for at least half an hour. While the gazpacho is chilling, prepare the garnish. In a small pan, heat the olive oil over a medium-high flame and fry the bread until golden, about 2 minutes. Break into small pieces  and set aside. Serve the gazpacho with the garnish.
Bon appetit :)