*This is a paid partnership with Grana Padano*
How can you resist a tray of bubbling, golden, crisp-edged cheese and greens-laden baked cannelloni? As the clocks go back and the temperature drops, this sort of meal I crave – comfort and nourishment in one roasting tray. I’ve long had a hankering to do a baked cannelloni recipe on here, and I don’t know what I’ve been waiting for, really. Fatefully, the folks from Grana Padano got in touch to ask me to create some recipes using the hard PDO cheese, and that’s given me the cue I needed. The result is something I’m really excited to share. It takes a bit of making, but is the perfect project for a rainy Sunday afternoon, and will reward you substantially for your efforts.
This recipe is very much my spin on a modern classic. It takes its lead from the popular spinach and ricotta cannelloni I’ve eaten in Italy, but, because my fridge is always full of miscellaneous greens from our allotment, I’ve mixed up the filling a little with some more substantial greens – cavolo nero, kale and brussel tops all work well along with spinach and chard, and add a bit more of a robust flavour. I also like to throw in some soft herbs like basil, parsley or dill, leeks for sweetness and a handful of chopped walnuts for some added earthiness and texture in the filling.
To give this dish an autumnal tone, I’ve use dried wild mushrooms or dried porcini in the filling (sauteed first with some garlic of course), and then in the bechamel I use the rehydration stock to add a lovely hint of savoury wild mushroom, which is beautifully balanced against the sweetness and milkiness of the Grana Padano. If you can’t get hold of dried mushrooms, you can leave them out or use some fresh mushrooms, and replace the mushroom stock with more milk or vegetable stock.
This recipe makes enough to serve four people, with a couple of side salads (a sharp tomato salad and perhaps a sprightly, lemony shaved fennel number), but even if you’re cooking for one or two you’ll want to make the full amount – it will keep you going for days. You could also make it and then freeze it before you bake it for a dinner party
Autumnal greens and Grana Padano baked cannelloni
For the Grana Padano bechamel
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp olive oil
20g butter
50g plain flour
Nutmeg
1 glass white wine or vermouth
250ml whole milk
250ml mushroom stock
40g grated Grana Padano
For the filling
8 dried lasagne sheets (make sure these aren’t the no-pre cook ones)
20g dried porcini or wild mushrooms
Olive oil
100g walnuts, roughly chopped
1 leek, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp lemon juice
250g mixed greens and herbs (spinach, chard, cavolo nero, kale, cabbage leaves and brussel tops, parsley, basil and dill are all good)
1 tub of good quality ricotta, sieved to strain off whey
Zest of ½ lemon
10g grated Grana Padano
Fresh nutmeg
More Grana Padano, for melting
- Rehydrate the dried mushrooms in 250ml of hot water and allow to stand for at least five mins. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, reserving both the mushrooms and the mushroom stock.
- Heat the olive oil, butter and bay leaf together in a pan over a gentle heat, until the butter has melted, then add in the flour. Stir to create a paste or roux, and cook for 2 minutes or so, until it’s smelling nutty. Combine the milk and wine, then slowly start to add it in, stirring briskly with a wooden spoon to bring it all together. Keep adding a little more liquid, stirring the whole time, and once you have a sauce consistency, switch to a whisk to get rid of any lumps. Once all the milk and wine is incorporated, add the mushroom stock and whisk continuously for a few mins, until you have a smooth, creamy sauce. Season with pepper and a good grating of nutmeg and continue to cook for 2-3 more minutes, until smooth, thickened and creamy, then add in the grated cheese and stir until melted. Season with salt to taste and discard the bay leaf. Remove from the heat and cover with a tea towel.
- Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil and blanche the greens until wilted – about 30 seconds-to-a-minute depending on the greens. Use tongs to fish them out and into a sieve over a bowl and allow them to cool, keeping the water on the heat. Once cool, squeeze or ring the greens out to get rid of any excess water and finely chop. Now add a tbsp olive oil to the water and blanche your pasta sheets, two at a time, for 3-4 mins or until just tender. Remove carefully with tongs and lay them out on a clean tea towel. Repeat until they’re all done. Cut each sheet to 12cm long.
- Heat the oven to 180 fan. Finely chop the dried mushrooms. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the garlic and chopped mushrooms to the oil and saute for a couple of mins, then add the leeks and cook for 5-6 mins, until softened but not colouring. Stir in the lemon juice. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta with the Grana Padano, some more nutmeg, greens, cooled leeks, mushrooms and walnuts, lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon. Season.
- Spoon ¾ of the bechamel into a ceramic or enamel baking tray or tart dish. Spoon just over a tbsp of the ricotta filling in a line along the short edge of a lasagne sheet, moulding into a sausage shape, then roll up to enclose the filling. Transfer the roll, seam side down to the dish and place on top of the sauce. Repeat with all the lasagne sheets and filling and arrange neatly in one layer. Pour the remaining sauce over the cannelloni, grate over some extra cheese and bake for 15-20 mins, until bubbling. Serve with a zingy tomato salad.