Ferrari's Italian Villa's recipe for cannelloni with ricotta

DALLAS - Ferrari's Italian Villa is turning 40, and you're invited to celebrate.

Chefs Stefano and Francesco Secchi returned to Good Day to make one of their favorite cannelloni dishes while talking about their upcoming party. 

Cannelloni with Ricotta

This is classic from Toscana (or Campania, there is always a debate) where you can either stuff it with braised meat OR ricotta and spinach. 

We are doing the ricotta version here, the pasta then gets baked with pomodoro and lots of Parmigiano Reggiano.

Cannelloni (Crespelle)

• 1 cup 00 flour (or all purpose flour)
• 2 large eggs
• Small pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ¾ cup whole milk
• 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

In a medium sized bowl, add the all the ingredients and whisk until incorporated well. Cover the bowl and let batter rest for 30 minutes.

Once the batter has rested, in a medium sized saucepan, under medium heat, dip a towel in small amount of olive oil and grease the bottom of the pan. 

Add a 2 oz ladle of the batter to pan and move the pan in a circular motion until the batter fully lines the bottom of the pan (I’ll demo). 

Cook the crespelle lightly on one side (about one minute), then flip over with a spatula, and lightly cook on the other side, then reserve on a plate or baking sheet. 

Repeat until all the batter is cooked.

Ricotta Filling

• 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 3 cups spinach, lightly cooked and chopped coarsely (I’ll demo)
• 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp Italian parsley, minced

In a large bowl, add all ingredients, stir well and adjust for salt (to your taste). 

Place a ¼ cup of the ricotta filling in each crespelle and roll to close (I’ll demo). 

To Finish

• 2 cups basic tomato sauce
• 1 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, grated

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Place all the crespelle in a baking pan, cover with generous amount of pomodoro sauce and plenty of Parmigiano Reggiano. 

Bake the crespelle for 35 minutes or until the Parmigiano is golden brown on top. 

Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving to set…then tuck in, tanta tanta roba

Yield: Serves 2 

LINK: www.ferrarisrestaurant.com