Jeremy Vincent’s recipe for spiced up cannelloni pasta

This week’s recipe gives a traditional pasta dish a chilli and bean twist.

DURING these troubled times many people are turning to traditional, homemade dishes to get the food on their table.

Pasta has been a sought after staple for many, and this week’s recipe takes a side step from the traditional and provides a little variety for the palate.

Mexico is not an obvious move from the Italian world of pasta, but here is a tasty marriage of styles. I’ve given the usual cannelloni tubes a kick of chilli in a dish that brings together the protein of pulses (in handy cans, although you can make your own chilli beans) with the delicious al dente of pasta.

These days the dried pasta tubes you can buy do not require cooking before being filled with the sauce. You can also use cooked lasagne sheets and the two sauces to create a layered dish similar to the traditional lasagne.

The recipe has three fresh chillies as well as chilli powder, but if you think your palate will rebel with all the heat (it’s not that bad) cut back on the fresh chilli if you wish.

SPICED UP CANNELLONI

Picture: Dannika Bonser

Serves 6-8

250g pkt cannelloni tubes

420g can Mexican chilli beans

435g can re-fried beans

3 tbsp olive oil

1kg lean minced beef

2 large onions, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 large green and 1 large red chilli

1 tsp chilli powder

200g cream cheese, softened

200g jar taco sauce

200ml chicken stock

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Drain the Mexican chilli beans and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion and garlic until it just begins to brown. Add the minced beef and cook until brown. Stir in the chillies and chilli powder; cook 1 minute more. Remove half of the mixture — about two and a half cups. To the remaining mixture, stir in the taco sauce, chicken stock and Mexican chilli beans. Set aside.

Stir together the reserved meat mixture, re-fried beans and cream cheese. Using a teaspoon, and with the cannelloni tubes standing on their ends, fill the tubes with the cream cheese and meat mixture. (A funnel is handy for this task, with a teaspoon handle coming in handy to poke the mixture through to the cannelloni tube.)

Spread a quarter of the taco sauce mix over the base of a buttered baking dish that is large enough to fit all the tubes in one layer. Arrange the tubes neatly in the dish and pour over the remaining sauce mixture. You can prepare the dish ahead of time to this point — it produces a better final flavour if you can. Cover with plastic wrap. Chill several hours or overnight.

Before baking, remove the plastic wrap. Cover the dish with foil and bake in a preheated 180C oven for 40 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with grated cheese and bake 5 minutes more or until the cheese is melted.

OTHER WAYS WITH CHILLI BEAN SAUCE

THE above sauce recipe in the cannelloni variation can be used in so many different ways:

SPOON it over potatoes that have been baked in their jackets then criss-crossed with a sharp knife and gently squeezed (careful, they are just out of the oven) to release the piping hot cooked insides. Spoon on hot chilli sauce.

SPREAD the hot sauce thinly over warmed pita bread, sprinkle with grated cheese and roll up.

OF COURSE, it’s great with tacos.

SERVE the sauce over frankfurters or baked sausages.

EASY MEXICAN BEAN DIP WITH CHEESY TORTILLA CHIPS

FRY one chopped onion in a tablespoon of olive oil until soft. Add a teaspoon of soft brown sugar, 1 teaspoon wine vinegar and 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (from the spice section of the supermarket). Cook for a minute, then add 400g tin mixed beans (rinsed and drained), 400g tin chopped tomatoes, and ½ teaspoon minced garlic. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the sauce has thickened, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

For the chips: Scatter a handful of grated cheddar on 100g tortilla chips. Microwave on high for a minute until the cheese has melted. Serve alongside the dip (top with some chopped avocado if you like). Make ahead of time and reheat dip before guests arrive. Serves 8.

MORE FOOD

CHEESECAKE WITH STRAWBERRY SAUCE

GINGER BEER PORK CHOPS

SHAVED FENNEL SALAD WITH SMOKED TROUT