Crab and Ricotta Cannelloni

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Show: Everyday ItalianEpisode: Seafood

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (241)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(241)

Cook Time:
45 min
Level:
Intermediate
Yield:
6 servings

Times:

Prep: 30 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 45 min
Total:: 1 hr 15 min

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Ingredients

1 box (8 ounces) cannelloni or manicotti pasta (about 12 shells)
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 pound lump crabmeat
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Bechamel Sauce, recipe follows

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.

In a large bowl, mix together ricotta, 3/4 cup Parmesan, egg yolk, basil, crab, salt, and pepper.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Fill the cannelloni with the crab mixture and place in a buttered baking dish. Top the filled cannelloni with the Bechamel Sauce and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake until bubbly and the top is golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Bechamel Sauce:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups whole milk, warmed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the warm milk, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thick, smooth, and creamy, about 10 minutes (do not allow the sauce to boil). Remove from the heat and stir in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. (The sauce can be made up to 3 days ahead. Cool and then cover and refrigerate.)

Yield: about 4 cups

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Crab and Ricotta Cannelloni
Aidan new york, NY 11-16-2009
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Delicious, but...
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

this is a great jump off point, as it is a good basis for a good recipe. i tried to make the recipe as is, but i had to add... A LOT of spices. so, for the filling, i added extra basil, fresh chopped parsley, rock shrimp sauteed in garlic and extra virgin olive oil, cooked spinach and mushroom i had left over and had put in the food processor and mixed with a dollop of marscapone, crushed red pepper, minced garlic and garlic powder, extra salt and pepper, about 3 T chopped raw yellow onions and roasted red peppers (it sounds like a lot, but really not at all difficult and most of the stuff is on hand). The biggest problem i had with the recipe was the sauce...it had virtually NO flavor...it would ruin the dish if you didn't add extra spice...after the butter melted i added about 1/4 c chopped yellow onions and about 3 T minced garlic. After the sauce was cooking for a bit, i added minced roasted red peppers, red pepper flakes, lots of salt and pepper, garlic powder, dried basil, dried oregano. Finally, I suggest cooking at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, then broiling it for the final 5 minutes so it gets nice and brown and the cheese gets some texture to it. I served with asparagus i roasted in the oven at 375 with chopped tomato and garlic (25 minutes). Also, try bruschetta with tomato or rrp, basil and fresh mozzarella with lots of garlic, oregano, salt and pepper...with these additions, it was 5 stars...without...prob only 2 or 3 stars...Read more
recipe Crab and Ricotta Cannelloni
Donald Smithers, BC 11-13-2009
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If you love crab, you gotta try this!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I followed the recipe, possibly using a bit more crab and parmesan cheese than called for. It was dee-licious! I used freshly... grated parmesan reggiano, and freshly caught Dungeness crab from Prince Rupert. (Caught them myself, of course) It makes a difference using top quality ingredients, and if you have lots of fresh crab you owe it to yourself to try this recipe. I couldn't imagine using chicken in this. If you don't like crab maybe you should find a chicken recipe, or else start to develop your taste buds. Fresh crab is sweet, delicate and delicious, and can be overpowered by strong seasonings, hence the mild flavors used here. In summary, stick to the recipe, but use fresh crab!Read more
recipe Crab and Ricotta Cannelloni
maricarmen mexico city, null 11-12-2009
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LOVE IT!
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

I made this for my husband and myself and it became one of his favourites. I don't understand why some people found it bland.... Parmesan cheese and crab meet quality have a lot to do. Try it with top quality parmesan. I also added more basil. It was amazing and i am actually going to do it again for dinner party since I know I will look like a pro. Read more
recipe Crab and Ricotta Cannelloni
Yael Eleele, HI 10-24-2009
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Don"t waste your money
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

I love Giada. I love crab. This dish was disgusting, Globby, heavy and fishy. Did nothing for the crab. Did nothing for my... mouth. My husband will eat anything in cream sauce and he didn't like it either. Better off just sticking to the good old marinara, spinach, ricotta version of this dish.Read more
recipe Crab and Ricotta Cannelloni
Stephanie N. Lauderdale, FL 10-22-2009
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FOLLOW her directions...don't scrimp on good crab meat!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

We all have different tastes and preferences, and i was tempted to add a lil of this or that to appeal to what I thought... would make it better, but I tried to do as Giada said, and, using crab LUMP meat and the amts she stated... it came out LOOKING and smelling great. I was still apprehensive when my husband came home... and I even had a disclaimer before he dug in that some reviews were good and some weren't. Well, add my review to the 4 or 5 star group! It wasn't pasta-ish, it wasNOT bland, it was, well, as crabby as a great crabcake! I made sure not to mush or break up the crab meat, so we had nice chunks in the creamy stuffing (I stuffed using a plastic tsp so it really was stuffed without tearing the pasta). The bechamel was good. The only thing i did differently was sprinkle with a lil chopped chives. Man, I will be making this again sooon. Infact, I love it so much, I have family coming this weekend, and this'll be the maincourse. I served with a light spring mix salad (with a drizzle of citrus (orange) vinagrette) and garlic toast slices that I further sliced in two to have a little more crunch to it. Yummm.Read more
recipe Crab and Ricotta Cannelloni
Dawn River Vale, NJ 10-16-2009
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Had to fix the bland problem
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

filling was good, but added some finely chopped roasted red peppers. Bechemel sauce needed flavor, so added lots of grated... parmesan cheese and melted it in as well as sprinkling on top. Also the cooking times were off. Sauce needed more time and so did oven time. After these changes recipie was very good and my husband loved it. Also we don't like nutmeg or white pepper in savory dished, so left them out. Added a little black pepper instead.Read more