I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.


Gluten and lactose are not my friends.


Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.


I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

July 30, 2012

Spinach Ricotta Chorizo Cannelloni


















Today was Dentist day




Never my favourite day.
Sorry to all you dentists out there, I don't know if it's sharp pointy things in my mouth, the sound of the drill, or the plain old feeling of  invasion-of-privacy that comes from having a strangers face hovering just centimeters above my face. I'm not a fan of up-close-and-personal.

The good news is that my chipped tooth is fixed, my teeth have been buffed and shined, and ..... Dentist day always means comfort food. Cavity or not, I feel I have earned it, but in deference to the hard work my dentist has put in, and the hundreds of dollars I forked out, I've gone for savoury comfort food instead of sweet. This time.


I didn't want to buy all new ingredients for this post, instead I ratted around my pantry and fridge to see what I could find and pull together into something yummy.


















1 packet gluten free Chorizo style sausages- but you can use any well flavoured one, a Pork and Fennel one would be lovely too
250 grm Ricotta type Cheese- I make my own with goat milk, it's not lactose free but I'm fine with it
200 grm Spinach- frozen or fresh
good handful fresh Basil Leaves, chopped
250 ml or to taste Tomato Passata
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 packet Rice Paper Sheets




Split the skins of the sausages, and scoop out the insides



















Combine them with the cheese, spinach and basil



















then squish squish squish together with your hands until nicely smooth and well mixed



















Grease your baking dish and pour in the passata, then sprinkle on the garlic and any extra basil leaves




















Dip a sheet of rice paper into cold water, leave to soften for just a few seconds, then fold in opposite sides to form a rectangle. This is just the way I wanted my dinner to look and would fit my dish nicely, you can certainly make them longer and stack them instead if you prefer




















Form a sausage of the sausage mix on the short edge of the rice paper, then roll up tightly





















I cut mine in half before standing them up in the baking dish nestling them into the sauce



















Keep going until the dish is tightly packed with cute little cannelloni rolls.
Top up with sauce if necessary, you don't want them to be covered completely to the top



















Pop a lid on the dish, or cover tightly with foil to stop them drying out. Bake at 180*C for an hour or so, mine took 75 minutes, or until the meat is completely cooked through






















I also made some crunchy baked garlic chorizo crumbs to pop on top of the finished meal for a bit of crunch, but I forgot to garnish the plate before I photographed it! Oooops! But I promise you they were lovely. I crumbled up a few slices of gluten free bread, scattered in a couple of finely chopped garlic cloves, dotted through little bits of the sausage then drizzled with a touch of oil . This was all baked alongside the cannelloni, for about 20 minutes or until cooked and crunchy.




















I always find that these type of dishes cut better if they're left to set for a while and not served immediately from the oven.























I served my cannelloni with a fresh green salad and no crunchy crumb garnish, but next time I won't forget!



So Dear Readers, do you mind going to the dentist, and what type of food do you like to eat after?


















.

30 comments:

  1. Hope you're feeling better soon! I know what you mean, you simply must get a scrumptious food award from all of that pain! :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ugh, I hate the dentist too. Glad it's all over for you!

    Absolutely love the idea of rice paper for cannelloni and standing them up like that and mincing the chorizo... there is so much right with the wonderful recipe!! Going to try it out for my GF MIL :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Christie! I hope your mother in law enjoys it too :)

      Delete
  3. Clever! - to use rice paper instead of pasta :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Us Aussies are more clever than we might appear Janet, despite the medal tally! xox

      Delete
  4. OMG I love the addition of chorizo! Cannelloni is my fave Italian dish :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. I hate the dentist too. I just hate having to keep my mouth open wide for all that time. My jaw just aches. I'm so overdue for a visit. Love the look of this dish. You are very inventive. This must have had lots of yummy flavour xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I guess mine has lots of practice with all the talking I do Charlie :) It was packed with lots of yumminess indeed!

      Delete
  6. Beautiful dish, Becca! And definitely deserved after a visit to the dentist! Great idea to use the rice paper in place of pasta.. xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks sweetie! I think it was definitely needed indeed :) Better than cheesecake even!

      Delete
  7. OMG! Gluten free cannelloni! I never thought to use rice paper, such a brilliant idea!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thankyou indeed! I use rice paper for lasagne sheets as well, it's just so handy :)

      Delete
  8. Ugh, the dentist! How tedious. Such a great idea of yours. I use rice paper often, but hadn't thought of using it for cannelloni! You are such a whizz, Bec!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lizzy :) I like the versatility of rice paper too

      Delete
  9. This sounds divine! I just want to dive in - so so yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  10. The other day was dentist day for me too. Why do those people always ask questions when they have sharp instruments in your mouth?

    What a great recipe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know! I guess they're trying to put us at ease, but it doesn't work :)

      Delete
  11. That looks really delicious! And I think the phobia of dentists is a global phenomenon... uurrgghh

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Poor dentists! I think it must be tough to have everyone afraid of you.

      Delete
  12. Absolutely DELICIOUS I've already bookmarked this. I like big trays of food like these so I can keep eating and eating non stop. For that night. And then the day after. Gosh this is fantastic I can't wait to make these but I also don't think I can stop myself from sprinkling them with a mountain of cheese too. I hope you'll forgive me ;p

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Winston! I do too :) The cheese will be great, I was going to put some on but thought it wouldn't make for a nice photo :) I think you should pile it on for sure with my blessings!

      Delete
  13. Dear InTolerant Chef,

    I like going to the dentist to get a clean up every now and then coz I like the feeling of really clean teeth after :) If there needs to be major works, which touch wood, has not happened for many years, then my favourite food is chicken congee, which I love anyway :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're so right, the clean was great- it's just the drilling and sharp things that trouble me :) Congee is perfect comfort food indeed!

      Delete
  14. Ahem... Olympics 2012... look at the scoreboard...
    :-) XO

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Olympics... what Olympics? I think you'll find we're just lulling you into a false sense of security :) xox

      Delete