Page 129 - COMING UNSTUCK by Sara tuck

Phwoar this is so good – pretty much the definition of comfort
food. Cannelloni stuffed with iron-rich spinach and smooth
ricotta, nestled in a rich tomato sauce, slathered in soft, creamy
béchamel, finished off with a crunchy crumbling of toasted
breadcrumbs and pine nuts.

For the béchamel sauce, melt the butter in a deep frying pan
over a medium heat, add flour and whisk to a firm paste. Cook
for 2 minutes, stirring so that it doesn’t catch on the bottom.
Add the milk a third at a time, whisking well after each addition
to combine until well incorporated. Keep whisking while
cooking until thickened and smooth. If it misbehaves, just
whisk even more until smooth – it should finish thick and silky.
Add the parmesan, bay leaf, salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir to
combine. Cover the surface with plastic wrap and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200˚C (400˚F). Put the spinach in a food
processor with the basil, yolks, parmesan, ricotta, nutmeg, garlic
and zest. Season with salt and pepper and pulse to combine.
Put all of the tomato sauce ingredients in a 26cm x 38cm
(10 in x 15 in) baking dish, season with salt and pepper and
whisk to combine. (It can be baked as one or divided among
smaller dishes to make smaller servings.)

If you have a big piping bag, use it, otherwise put the filling
in a sturdy plastic bag and snip off the corner and use this to
pipe the filling into the cannelloni tubes. As you fill them,
line them up snugly on top of the sauce. Cover with béchamel
sauce (remove bay leaf first) and bake for 25 minutes. While it is
cooking put all of the topping ingredients, except the pine nuts,
in a food processor and whizz to combine. Add the pine nuts
and pulse a few times to mix. After 25 minutes, sprinkle the
topping thickly on top of the béchamel and cook a further 15
minutes until golden.

See photo page 123

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