Chicken and Broccoli Cannelloni

This is an impressive dish for any weekend meal, buffet or a special birthday dinner request. 

It is also a great make ahead and individually freeze for later, dish.

There are a few steps, as a filled pasta goes, but this is made easier if you have a food processor and a ready roasted chicken, which also adds some nice flavour.  You could use leftovers, if you have them, or cook some chicken breasts.

Use oven ready Cannelloni noodles.

Oven ready pasta needs a lot of liquid.  Use tomatoes in their juice, not tomato sauce, or you might need more water.  It will seem quite wet, but the noodles will soak it all up.

Everything needs to be chopped finely, or use a food processor.

Put each ingredient in a food processor, individually.  You do not want a purée, just very small pieces.  Finely chopped or roughly ground.

As a filling, it all needs to be small enough to be easily pressed through a large piping bag and into the pasta.

How To Make Chicken and Broccoli Cannelloni

For the Tomato Cream Sauce

1. Purée the tomatoes with their juice, and set aside. 

2. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan on medium heat.

3. Whisk in the flour and cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring to cook the flour. Try not to let it brown.

4. If it starts to brown, that is a good time to quickly stir in the milk and salt and pepper.  Be careful of the steam.

5. Cook over medium heat, stirring until thick for about 5-7 minutes.

6. Add the tomatoes with the juice, and the water.

Let it come to a boil again, stirring occasionally, then remove from heat.

For the Chicken and Broccoli Filling

1. In a very large frying pan, sauté the onions in 2 Tbsp oil for 1 minute on medium high heat.

2. Add the mushrooms with another tablespoon of oil and cook until the mushrooms start to brown and the onions become translucent, for about 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the garlic, the broccoli, basil, and thyme.  Cook for a few minuites.

4. Add the chicken and stir gently to heat through.

5. Add the parmesan cheese and 1 cup of the tomato cream sauce.

Have your noodles out of the package and ready so they are easy to reach.

6. Pour a good cup of sauce to cover the bottom of a 10”x15” (25 x 38cm) baking dish, to lessen sticking.

7. Put the filling into a strong piping bag with a 1” tube, or just use the coupler.  Or use a freezer bag with the tip cut off.  Start small.

8. Fill the cannelloni with the chicken mixture.  You may need to fill one side of the cannelloni tube, then turn it and fill the other end, or give the cannelloni or the piping bag a poke if things get stuck. 

You could also just use your hands and poke the filling through with some help that is good company. It will be fun.

9. As you place the cannelloni on top of the sauce, beside each other, push some sauce in between so the noodles don’t stick together while cooking.

10. Pour the remaining sauce over to cover all of the cannelloni, If some of the noodles are not covered, pour enough water to cover everything.  The noodles need to be completly submerged.

Bake 350°F/180°C for 45 minutes.

Sprinkle with mozzarella halfway through.  If you would rather not have to check on it, cover with foil if the cheese starts to brown more than you would like.