Pork-filled Manicotti Provençal Style - Cannelloni con Maiale alla Proven
By Kyle Phillips, About.com Guide

This is a somewhat more elegant cannellone or manicotti recipe featuring a pork-based filling. Pork cubes are browned with carrots, onions and mushrooms, then simmered in a Marsala wine and a light tomato sauce until tender. The pork and vegetables get tossed with wilted fresh spinach and stuffed into manicotti shells. Remaining sauce is spread on top before baking.

3/4 pound (300 g) commercially prepared cannelloni or manicotti shells
1/2 cup (packed) dried porcini, soaked 20 minutes in 1/2 cup hot water
1 1/4 pounds (550 g) lean pork, cubed
1 bunch (about a pound, 450 g) fresh spinach
1/3 cup unsalted butter
A small onion, minced
A medium carrot, minced
A 6-inch stalk celery, minced
A small bunch parsley, minced
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry Marsala (or sherry if you have no Marsala)
2 heaping tablespoons tomato paste diluted in 1/2 cup water
1 egg
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano
Freshly grated nutmeg to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon)

Rinse the spinach well, discard the roots, and heat it in a pot until it wilts, then squeeze out the excess moisture, chop it coarsely, and sauté in 2 tablespoons butter.

Mince the remaining herbs (carrot, onion etc.) and brown them lightly in 2 tablespoons butter. When they have browned add the pork and continue cooking until it is browned too, then stir in the soaked mushrooms. Stir in the Marsala and the diluted tomato paste, season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg, reduce the heat to a low simmer, and simmer for an hour, adding more water if necessary to keep the sauce from thickening overmuch.

While the sauce is simmering roll out the dough if you're starting from scratch, and cut it into 3 by 4-inch rectangles. Once the pasta is cut cook it a few pieces at a time in abundant lightly salted water (if you're using commercially prepared shells follow the directions on the package). Remove the pasta from the water with a slotted spoon while it's still rather al dente, and lay the pieces on a damp cloth taking care lest they be touching and stick.

When the sauce is done, remove the pot from the fire and transfer the meat and mushrooms to a bowl, leaving the sauce in the pan. Crack the egg into the bowl with the meat, add the chopped spinach and the grated cheese, a hint of nutmeg, 2 tablespoons of the sauce in the pan, and mix thoroughly.

Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C).

You are now ready to fill your cannelloni: lay some of the filling along the long edge of the first sheet, roll it up to make the cannelone, and place it in a well buttered, elegant baking dish. Repeat the procedure until pasta and filling are all used up.

When you are done making the cannelloni, spoon the remaining sauce from the pan over them, together with a little water, dust them well with grated cheese and dot them with a little butter, and bake them for about a half hour, which will give the flavors time to meld.

6 servings