Seafood Cannelloni

Preparing cannelloni during the Christmas season is almost mandatory. Today Noelia, author of La Cucharina Mágica, brings us a seafood cannelloni recipe, a foolproof option to succeed at upcoming meals with family and friends.

For a few years now, many recipe blogs have been making people aware that what matters at Christmas is celebrating with family and friends, with something tasty and impressive, without going bankrupt because of inflated prices of holiday products…

Gone are the days, at least in most families, of buying fresh products at sky-high prices. Products that can be enjoyed all year round, and for half the price.

The solution to avoid the holiday splurge is either to buy fresh products in advance and freeze them, or to use other types of products that are already frozen or pre-cooked, which with a bit of imagination and good presentation will look perfect on the Christmas table of the Royal Family itself.

Following this idea I bring you today some seafood cannelloni, a very special dish, typical of this season, but with slightly different ingredients and a trick to keep them from being expensive. The seafood used will be precooked, which you can buy a few weeks before and freeze until it’s time to cook. Also, having the seafood already cooked will save you a lot of time in the kitchen.

For this recipe, I tried for the first time the Le Creuset nonstick oven tray. It’s an absolute marvel! Forget the legendary problem of béchamel sticking, because with this tray nothing sticks! I recommend it!

Le Creuset nonstick oven tray

Ingredients (for 8 people)

• 2 precooked spider crabs
• 500gr of prawns or shrimp
• 2 leeks
• 1 carrot
• 1 small onion
• ½ Italian (sweet) pepper
• 1 clove of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• ½ liter of whole milk
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Preparation

1. We wash and cut the leeks, carrot, onion, garlic and pepper. We put them in a frying pan with a good splash of oil and let them brown slowly.
2. At the same time, we peel the prawns. We cut the meat into pieces and set it aside. We put the heads in a frying pan with a good splash of oil and fry them, crushing them with a spoon. We remove the heads, leaving the oil in the pan, and put them in a saucepan with the milk, let them boil for 10 minutes and set aside.
3. We peel the spider crabs, removing all their meat, especially from the body.
4. When the vegetables are golden and tender, we add the chopped prawns, season with salt and pepper, stir for 2 minutes and add the crab meat. The cannelloni filling is now ready. Set aside.
5. In the oil where we fried the heads, we add the butter and brown the flour for a few minutes over low heat. We gradually add the milk we infused with the heads, season with salt and pepper and stir until the flour dissolves and a smooth béchamel forms.
6. We prepare the cannelloni according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
7. On the Le Creuset tray we spread a few spoonfuls of béchamel on the base, place the filled cannelloni and arrange them on the tray. Pour the béchamel over the cannelloni and bake at 180ºC for 30 minutes, or until golden.

Le Creuset nonstick oven tray

Tips

• You can change the filling for the ingredients you like best.
• If the béchamel is too thick, add more milk.
• If you prepare the cannelloni pasta a little in advance, you can keep them covered with a damp cloth to prevent them from drying out.
• If lumps form in the béchamel, break them up with a blender and continue stirring so it takes shape.