Cannelloni or Manicotti With Chicken

Name: Cannelloni or Manicotti With Chicken
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 25 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 6 serving(s)
Ingredients: 12 cannelloni tubes or 12 manicotti, tubes; 1 tablespoon salt; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes; 1 medium onion, finely chopped; 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed; 1/4 cup dry vermouth; 1/2 lb kale, cooked, thoroughly drained and chopped; 2 cups chicken broth; 1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese; 1 cup low fat cottage cheese; 8 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided (Parmigiano Reggiano preferred); 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper; 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 3 tablespoons butter; 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 2 cups whole milk, homogenized

Submitted by William Uncle Bill

"A very tasty dish that takes about 2 hours to make but is worth the time."

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Ready In:: 1hr 45mins
Ingredients:: 17
Serves:: 6

ingredients

12 cannelloni tubes or 12 manicotti, tubes
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 medium onion, finely chopped
¹⁄₂ teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves, crushed
¹⁄₄ cup dry vermouth
¹⁄₂ lb kale, cooked, thoroughly drained and chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1 cup low fat cottage cheese
8 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese, divided (Parmigiano Reggiano preferred)
¹⁄₄ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
¹⁄₈ teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk, homogenized

directions

In a large mixing bowl combine chicken cubes, onion, thyme and vermouth.
Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
In the meantime, in a large saucepan with 2 cups of water, add kale and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes.
Drain and cover kale with cold water; set aside.
Strain the marinade into a large frying pan or skillet; set aside the chicken and onions.
Add chicken broth to the frying pan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
Add chicken/onion to frying pan and poach until the chicken is no longer pink at the center, about 4 minutes.
With a slotted spoon, remove the chicken cubes to a food processor, reserving the poaching liquid.
Process the chicken in short bursts until the cubes are finely chopped.
Drain kale well, chop and add to the food processor.
Add ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, 4 tablespoons of parmesan cheese, black pepper and nutmeg and process to blend; set aside.
To prepare the sauce, melt butter in a 2 quart saucepan over medium heat.
Gradually whisk in flour to make a paste and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, DO NOT BURN or let it go lumpy.
Whisk in reserved poaching liquid, bring to boil, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes.
Add milk and return the liquid to boil, whisking frequently.
Reduce heat to low and let the sauce simmer gently for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally while you prepare the cannelloni.
In a large cooking pot or pasta cooking pot, fill 3/4 full with water and bring to a rolling boil.
Add 1 tablespoon salt and 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Add cannelloni or manicotti tubes and cook for about 15 minutes or until al dente'.
When done, transfer tubes to bowl of cold water.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Thoroughly drain cannelloni tubes and carefully fill them with the stuffing mixture using a small spoon.
In a 9x9-inch oven-proof casserole dish, arrange stuffed cannelloni in a single layer.
Ladle the sauce over the cannelloni.
Sprinkle remaining 4 tablespoons of parmesan cheese over the top.
Cover the casserole dish tightly with aluminum foil.
Bake in preheated 400°F oven for 30 minutes.
Remove foil from the dish and place dish under the broiler, about 3 inches below and broil for about 5 minutes until the cannelloni is lightly browned.
Serve immediately.
You can delete the chicken if you do not want it. Also, you can use Spinach instead of Kale.
You may use the sauce that I make for my UNCLE BILL'S CABBAGE ROLLS, recipe #35722.

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Reviews

I can't properly rate this as I played with the recipe a bit but did want to give some feedback. Loved the idea of using kale in a lasagne and it worked wonderfully as a substitute for the more normal spinach, but I had to use what I had in the house so I used lasagne noodles and ground pork instead of chicken. Because of this I also altered the process slightly, not poaching the chicken and reducing the stock by about 1/2 cup. I still followed the general idea of the recipe though. The sauce was beautiful, creamy and thick, and I thought the vermouth was a different but nice choice to add flavour to the meat. Thanks Uncle Bill for the inspiration and maybe next time I will make it properly!

Sackville
Wonderful!! I didn't have vermouth, so I subbed with regular red wine and used all ricotta instead of cottage cheese. WOW! I did 2 versions - one with manacotti shells and one with crepes. Both were fantastic. I am the manacotti fanatic in the house, but this time DH was singing the joys of great italian!

AKillian24

Tweaks

I can't properly rate this as I played with the recipe a bit but did want to give some feedback. Loved the idea of using kale in a lasagne and it worked wonderfully as a substitute for the more normal spinach, but I had to use what I had in the house so I used lasagne noodles and ground pork instead of chicken. Because of this I also altered the process slightly, not poaching the chicken and reducing the stock by about 1/2 cup. I still followed the general idea of the recipe though. The sauce was beautiful, creamy and thick, and I thought the vermouth was a different but nice choice to add flavour to the meat. Thanks Uncle Bill for the inspiration and maybe next time I will make it properly!

Sackville

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

William Uncle Bill

Burnaby,, B.C.

I live in Burnaby, British Columbia. I am retired and have written a cookbook entitled, From Uncle Bill's Kitchen. I am a recipe developer, author, publisher, distributor and a chef. My cookbook is very unique as I have a Nutrient Analysis for each ingredient used in each recipe that shows you the values for Calories, Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. A high-lighted bar shows the values on a per serving basis plus the Fat/Cal%. From Uncle Bill's Kitchen contains tried-and-true, tested, easy to follow reipes for both novice and experienced cooks. You'll find old Russian, Ukrainian, and other ethnic favorites, along with modern West Coast dishes. The Nutrient Analysis will please the health conscious. Uncle Bill's favorite recipes will reward efforts of the most creative cook and provide the family with many tantalizing, healthful meals. I have appeared on 48 various Television Shows in Vancouver, Burnaby, Kelowna and Kamploops, B.C. Canada, as well as in Palm Springs, CA. In Palm Springs, CA, I have been a Guest on the JACKIE OLDEN RADIO SHOW and THE JOEY ENGLISH RADIO SHOW, twice a year since 1998. I also do demo cooking shows at CHAPTERS BOOK STORES, SAVE-ON-FOOD STORES, GALLOWAY'S FOODS, WESTMINSTER PUBLIC QUAY MARKET, and in the U.S. at BARNES & NOBLE BOOKSTORES in Palm Springs, CA, Phoenix and Yuma, AZ. I was in Palm Springs, CA from June 10th to July 14th. 2002 and again appeared twice on the Jackie Olden Show, twice on the Joey English Show and pre-taped a TV COOKING SHOW with Jackie Olden that is aired on TV from Palm Springs, CA to Los Angeles, CA.

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