Ingredients
- Salt and pepper
- Parmesan cheese for grating
- 500 g/1lb 2oz good quality cannelloni tubes
- olive oil
- for the sauce
- a small handful of dried porcini
- 150 ml /5.5oz olive oil
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 4 sticks of celery, trimmed and finely diced
- 1 large red onion, peeled and finely diced
- 1 leek, trimmed, outer leaves discarded, finely diced
- 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
- 5 portobello mushrooms, finely chopped
- 5 x400g tins of tomatoes
- a large bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked, stalks finely chopped
- for the spinach
- 680 g/1&1/2 lb fresh spinach
- nutmeg for grating
- for a quick white sauce
- 285 ml/1/2 pint single cream
- 500 ml/ 17.5 oz crème fraiche
- 4 good quality anchovy fillets in oil, drained and finely chopped
- handful of grated parmesan cheese
Preparation
Step 1
First find a pan that will hold all your cannelloni, snugly, standing up.
Preheat to 190c/375f
Make your sauce:
Put the porcini in a bowl and cover with boiling water, leave to stand for 5 minutes.
Heat a pan and add the oil, carrots, celery, onion, and leek. Cook for 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and portebello. Remove the porcini from the bowl and add to the pan, and cook for another 5 minutes. Strain the porcini liquid into the pot with a wineglass of water. Allow the liquid to reduce slightly, then add the tomatoes, and chopped basil stalks, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for up to 45 minutes, then tear in the basil leaves.
Prepare spinach:
Throw the spinach in a pan with a splash of oil , stir and leave it to wilt down. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Set aside.
White sauce:
Mix together all white sauce ingredients, and check the seasoning.
Get your baking dish and spoon in about 1/2 inch of the cheese sauce, sprinkle with parmesan and top with the spinach. Ladle in half of your sauce then press the cannelloni tubes down into the sauce. The sauce should come about halfway up the tubes. Spoon over the rest of the sauce, smoothing it down the holes. Pour over the remaining cheese sauce, then sprinkle over some parmesan, drizzle with oil and bake for 45 minutes.
Serves 6-8