Meat and foie gras cannelloni with a white truffle aroma

We can already smell Christmas, and many of us can't imagine it without those family meals full of delicious dishes and joyful conversations. Cannelloni are almost a must in many homes, so today Carolina, author of La Cocina de Carolina, makes our mouths water with a meat version with a very special touch. You're sure to want to take notes, because she makes an adaptation of traditional meat cannelloni that you'll love!

Christmas is approaching and surely more than one of you are already dreaming of that baked cannelloni dish your grandmother or mother makes for you. This year we suggest a cannelloni recipe with a different twist: we've added duck foie and we'll also flavor them with white truffle salt and a béchamel made with truffle butter. Pure exquisiteness.

We suggest making the pasta yourselves; in the recipe we've combined spelt flour and wheat flour, but you can replace the spelt portion with durum wheat semolina or regular wheat flour — we leave it up to you. The important thing is to make the pasta at home; once you start making it you will never buy fresh pasta again.

Ingredients (for 6 people)

For the fresh pasta

• 200 g spelt flour
• 200 g wheat flour
• 4 eggs
• A pinch of salt

For the filling

• 250 g ground beef
• 1 can of duck foie
• 150 g onion, very finely chopped
• 200 g mushrooms, chopped
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Truffled salt
• Freshly ground pepper and salt

For the béchamel topping

• 1 liter whole milk
• 70 gr truffle butter (or regular if you don't want that touch)
• 70 gr flour
• Salt, pepper and nutmeg
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation of the foie and truffle cannelloni

We prepare our homemade pasta sheets for cannelloni:

To do this, mix the flours well with the eggs and a pinch of salt. I recommend doing it on a clean work surface: form a mound with the flour and make a well in the center where you pour the eggs. With the help of a fork, gently beat the eggs while gradually incorporating flour from the sides until you can knead with your hands and finish with a ball of dough. Wrap it in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for about half an hour.

Imperia pasta machine

Once it has rested, we will roll out the pasta with our Imperia pasta machine always starting at the widest setting and moving down one by one to the second-thinnest in the case of cannelloni.

When we have our pasta sheets rolled out, cut them into squares or rectangles to form the cannelloni, placing parchment between each sheet (we can keep the dough for a day in the fridge and a couple of months in the freezer).

For the cannelloni filling:

Sauté the onion in a little olive oil over medium-low heat; when it is translucent add the chopped mushrooms and sauté for a couple of minutes.
Add the ground meat and season with our white truffle salt; when it starts to brown slightly add the duck foie and leave for a couple of minutes until it's cooked through.

For the béchamel:

Start by preparing a roux — that is, a mixture of butter and flour in equal parts in a pan over medium heat. Mix well with a hand whisk until it begins to take a light toasted color, then gradually add the milk without stopping stirring and let it simmer over low heat for about ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally add salt and white pepper to taste and a pinch of nutmeg.

Add a couple of tablespoons of béchamel to the cannelloni filling and mix well with the meat. Reserve the rest.

Cook the cannelloni pasta in plenty of boiling salted water. Remove it before it's completely done, keeping in mind that it will finish cooking in the oven while gratinating.

Le Creuset non-stick baking tray

Fill the cooked pasta sheets with a couple of tablespoons of the meat filling and roll to form each cannelloni.

Place them side by side in a non-stick baking tray and pour the remaining béchamel over them, sprinkle with grated Parmesan and bake for about 5-10 minutes on the top rack of a preheated oven at 200ºC with the broiler on.