Chicken Cannelloni

How to prepare chicken cannelloni

1. Heat the oil for the tomato sauce. Add the chili and sliced garlic and saute quickly until fragrant. Add the canned tomatoes blended in a blender and simmer for 10 minutes, adding salt to taste and sugar if you feel the sauce is acidic. Turn off the heat and add the finely chopped basil (or parsley).
2. Prepare the bechamel sauce following the instructions here.
3. For the filling: heat the oil and saute the finely chopped onion until soft. Add the ground chicken (or chicken finely chopped with a knife). Fry, stirring frequently, until it changes color. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg while frying.
4. If you used chicken pieces, put them in a food processor. Add the mortadella and blend until crumbled. If you used ground chicken, just add the finely chopped mortadella to the filling. Taste the filling for seasoning and add more if needed.
5. Add 1 heaping tablespoon of bechamel sauce and cream to the filling and mix. This way the filling will "bind" and will not be dry at the end.
6. Mix the remaining bechamel sauce with the tomato sauce and add the 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Blend until smooth.
8. Put a large pot with salted water to boil. When it starts to boil, turn the heat to low and add the cannelloni (in batches, do not crowd them). Boil for 5 minutes. The pasta will be only half cooked after this time and will keep its shape (see photo 3). Remove with a slotted spoon onto a clean towel.
9. In an oven-safe dish that fits all the cannelloni, spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom. Carefully take each cannelloni and stand it upright in the dish. Fill with meat using a teaspoon. Lay the tube down in the dish. Repeat until all tubes are filled.
10. Pour the remaining sauce over the cannelloni. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan.
11. Bake at 200C for 20-30 minutes.
12. Serve warm.

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