Truffled meat and mushroom cannelloni

Thinking about recipes to celebrate Christmas, I couldn't resist preparing this truffled meat cannelloni recipe. At home it's usually a go-to lasagna recipe, but today I wanted to adapt it so you can enjoy it prepared as a cannelloni.

I know in good faith that cannelloni are laborious to prepare, but I bring you an easier way to save time. Also, if you want you can prepare them in advance and finish them in the oven when you're ready to eat. You'll see the small effort is worth it.

We take the recipe to another level thanks to the truffle used in the béchamel, and the combination of flavors in the filling —with mushrooms and meat— is wonderful. As for presentation, I love how they look served individually in small casserole dishes; everyone likes it and is surprised, but you can bring it to the table on a central platter.

Shall we get started? You're going to love them!

Le Creuset Skillet and Revol round porcelain plates

Ingredients for 6 people

• 18-20 preformed cannelloni pasta*
• Grated Parmesan cheese for gratin

For the filling:

• 400 gr minced pork and beef
• 200 gr mushrooms
• 300 gr boletus edulis**
• 3 shallots
• ½ green pepper
• 2 garlic cloves
• A splash of brandy
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig of thyme
• Salt
• Pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

For the truffled béchamel:

• 1200 gr whole milk
• 60 gr butter
• 60 gr flour
• 40 gr grated truffle
• Salt
• Pepper
• Nutmeg

Emile Henry ceramic oven tray and Revol round porcelain plates

Preparation

1. We put 3 tablespoons of oil in our Le Creuset skillet, lightly brown the garlic, add the shallots finely chopped, the green pepper very finely chopped, the bay leaf and the thyme. Sweat well.
2. Once softened we add the mushrooms and champiñones, previously chopped very small with the help ofthe Tefal manual chopper, we season with salt and pepper and cook well until they reduce in volume and release no water. We remove them from the skillet and set aside.
3. In the same skillet, add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and add the meat, season with salt and pepper and cook until it is cooked through and lightly browned, raise the heat, add the brandy and let it evaporate. Add the mushrooms back, mix with the meat, adjust salt and pepper, and set aside until the mixture cools slightly.
4. While the mixture cools, we prepare the truffled béchamel; for that we will melt the butter in a saucepan large, add the flour, sauté for a couple of minutes so it doesn't taste of raw flour, without stopping stirring add the milk and wait for it to thicken —remember that it's important the milk is cold to avoid lumps—. Season with salt and pepper, scent with nutmeg and finally add the grated truffle, mix well and set aside.
5. Once the filling has cooled, remove the bay leaf and thyme, add 5 tablespoons of béchamel, mix well to incorporate.
6. And now I give you the option to chop the mixture more or leave it as is; it's up to each person. In my case I gave it a few passes through the manual chopper, although I could have avoided it, since the size of the pieces wasn't excessive and we could perfectly fill the pasta tubes.
7. Once we have the filling ready, use a piping bag to fill the cannelloni tubes and place them over a layer of béchamel, either individually, in groups of 3, in our Revol individual plates or in an oven tray such as those from Emile Henry.
8. Cover with béchamel, sprinkle with cheese and cook for 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 200ºC.
9. Serve hot.

Although cannelloni can be laborious to prepare, as I already mentioned, they are always a success. Like lasagnas, we can prepare them in advance, covered with béchamel, and at the last moment finish them in the oven. It's a delicious dish to share with family and enjoy both on holidays and any day you want to make a recipe that will surprise.

Don't miss them!

*For me preformed cannelloni pasta is convenient, but if you prefer you can make them with individual sheets which you will need to boil, dry once cooked and fill. With this type of pasta you don't need a 20-minute oven cooking time; you could reduce it to 10 minutes and gratin.

** If it's hard for you to get fresh boletus edulis, don't hesitate to buy them frozen; for this recipe I chose that option. It's important to thaw them before making the sofrito.

Emile Henry ceramic oven tray and Revol round porcelain plates