Meaning ‘big pipes’, these are an Italian specialty – tubes of pasta which are filled with a savoury stuffing. The pasta is usually cooked first and, after filling, the cannelloni are sprinkled with melted butter and grated cheese or with a sauce, and browned in the oven. Fillings may vary from cheese and spinach to a rich chicken or meat mixture.
Cannelloni are usually bought as dried pasta, already formed into tubes. If you prefer, you can make your own fresh pasta dough, cut it into squares and roll round the filling (in some areas, you can buy fresh pasta from a specialty shop). Thin crêpes, fried on one side only, may be used instead of pasta dough. There are precooked cannelloni tubes sold in packages, ready for filling. For cannelloni recipes, see: Pasta.