Mushroom and ricotta cannelloni with Parmesan, brown butter and nutmeg

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This stunning mushroom and ricotta cannelloni recipe makes a beautiful starter for a dinner party. Since this is a light dish with no creamy sauce to soften the pasta, Robert makes sure to pre-cook the cannelloni before piping in the filling, so they are perfectly cooked before they go under the grill with the Parmesan. When it's in season, swap the spinach for wild garlic if you're after a punchy, aromatic flavour.

First published in 2016

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Mushroom and ricotta cannelloni

  • 8 cannelloni tubes
  • 800g of mixed exotic mushrooms, Robert used shiitake, yellow, pink and grey oyster
  • 400g of spinach, or wild garlic if it's in season
  • 200g of ricotta
  • 100g of Parmesan, grated for the filling, plus extra to serve
  • 250ml of vegetable stock
  • 50ml of rapeseed oil, plus a dash for cooking the mushrooms
  • 150g of unsalted butter
  • 50ml of red wine vinegar, preferably Cabernet Sauvignon
  • nutmeg, to grate
  • olive oil

Equipment

  • Blender
  • Piping bag and nozzle

Method

1
To begin, slice the mushrooms thinly and sauté in a hot pan pan with a dash of rapeseed oil. Deglaze the pan with the red wine vinegar and continue cooking until the mushrooms have softened. Season and allow to cool
  • 800g of mixed exotic mushrooms, Robert used shiitake, yellow, pink and grey oyster
  • 50ml of red wine vinegar, preferably Cabernet Sauvignon
2
Blanch the spinach or wild garlic in boiling salted water then refresh in iced water. Squeeze out as much water as possible then finely chop
  • 400g of spinach, or wild garlic if it's in season
3
Mix the cooled mushrooms with half of the chopped spinach, the grated Parmesan and ricotta. Season with salt, pepper and grated fresh nutmeg to taste. Place inside a piping bag a set aside
4
Bring 200ml of vegetable stock to the boil and add the remaining spinach. Bring back to the boil then blend until smooth with the rapeseed oil – this will emulsify into the spinach sauce giving it a velvety texture. Season and strain
  • 200ml of vegetable stock
  • 50ml of rapeseed oil, plus a dash for cooking the mushrooms
5
Cook the cannelloni tubes in plenty of salted boiling water until al dente, according to packet instructions. Refresh in iced water, and drain again. Coat the pasta lightly with olive oil to ensure the tubes do not stick together
  • 8 cannelloni tubes
  • olive oil
6
Whislt carefully holding the cannelloni tubes in the palm of your hand, use the tip of the piping bag to open one end and fill with the mushroom and spinach mixture. Once all the tubes are filled, place in a buttered dish with the remaining 50ml of the vegetable stock and cover with foil
  • 50ml of vegetable stock
7
To make the brown butter, bring the butter to the boil and cook until it turns a deep golden colour and takes on a nutty smell. Immediately strain into a fresh pan and allow to cool slightly
8
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4
9
Bake the cannelloni for 10-12 minutes, then remove the foil and esure they are hot. Grate some Parmesan over the top then grill until the cheese has melted and is lightly golden
10
To serve, spoon some of the spinach sauce onto each plate and top with the cannelloni. Finish with the brown butter and more grated Parmesan

Robert Thompson's cooking is full of character and classical skill.

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