Cannelloni with a vegetarian mushroom filling

I know, I know what you’re thinking, but this vegetarian dish really did turn out very tasty. Admittedly, these are probably the worst photos to appear on Prymitywna Kuchnia in ages. I didn’t make much of an effort, and it looks terrible. But please only criticise it once you’ve made it and found you don’t like it. I apologise for the photos and genuinely promise to do better 🙂

You just need to understand one thing: this was a boys’ night!

And I’ll leave it there, because, as you know, apart from the vegetarian cannelloni, everything else that happens at a gathering like that must remain behind a veil of silence 🙂 I do recommend the dish, though, and assure you it tasted good despite the boys’ night (and we ate before doing the things I’m not going to write about!

PS

This dish is mildly spicy, but it does have some heat. You can reduce the ingredients that make it hotter, such as the red peppercorns or chilli, if you prefer things milder. With precisely these proportions, the heat is gentle but noticeable.

At a glance:

Preparation time: 40 minutes

Baking time: 45 minutes

Baking temperature: 180 degrees Celsius (fan-assisted) and 200 degrees (top and bottom heat)

Serves: two substantial portions for two proper hungry blokes

Calories: is anyone still thinking about calories in the time of coronavirus?

Ingredients for vegetarian cannelloni (but not vegan):

• 40 dag button mushrooms (mine were tiny)
• 12 cannelloni tubes
• 2 medium fresh carrots 
• 1 red chilli
• 1 large onion
• 1 good-sized leek
• 1/4 of a block of butter (that is, 50 grams)
• 2 level tablespoons plain wheat flour (yes, I managed to buy flour 🙂
• 2 level teaspoons nutmeg
• 1 glass of milk
• two handfuls of grated cheese (a cheese that bakes well; mozzarella will do, but it could also be
• ground black pepper
• a few red peppercorns
• half a teaspoon of sugar
• a level teaspoon of sweet paprika
• salt
• olive oil or another vegetable oil for frying

Recipe for tinned mackerel spread:

Lots of ingredients, but a fairly simple recipe. Admittedly, I started at the wrong end because I originally had a different dish in mind. You can do exactly what I did, or you can fry everything together from the outset. Anyway, I began by frying the mushrooms and onion, though you can fry all the filling ingredients together straight away, including the carrots and leek.

Right, let’s start. I finely chopped the onion and fried it in a heated mixture of olive oil and sunflower oil. While it was frying, I added a level teaspoon of sugar and stirred. I washed the mushrooms and cut each into 4 pieces. Once the onion had turned slightly translucent, I added the mushrooms and stirred. Next I sliced the red chilli into rings and added it to the mushrooms. I seasoned with salt and pepper to taste and added a few red peppercorns too. I mixed everything and fried it for about 20–25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then I washed and sliced the fresh carrots and leek into rounds and added them to the mushrooms. I fried the mixture for another 10 minutes or so and set it aside to cool.

Once the filling had cooled a little, I stuffed it into the cannelloni and put the tubes in an ovenproof dish. This is admittedly the most tedious part, so I’ll be blunt: I find it easiest to fill those tubes with my hands. I spread the leftover filling on top and covered it with broken cannelloni, making sure the filling was completely covered. I crushed about 4–5 tubes for this.

Next I made the béchamel. I put 1/4 of a block of butter into a small saucepan and melted it over a low heat. Then — this is where you need to concentrate, have all your ingredients ready and keep one hand stirring, or your béchamel will turn lumpy — I added two level tablespoons of flour and stirred quickly to make a smooth roux. Once the roux was ready, I slowly poured in the milk, stirring all the time. When all the milk was in, I added the nutmeg, black pepper and a pinch of salt. I kept stirring. Basically, you stir until some of the water evaporates and the béchamel thickens. Be careful not to let it become too thick, though: it should still be pourable.

I poured the béchamel over the cannelloni and put the dish into the oven for 30 minutes on the fan-assisted setting at 180 degrees Celsius. Then I switched to top and bottom heat, raised the temperature to 200 degrees Celsius, covered the entire surface with grated cheese and sprinkled it with sweet paprika. I baked it for another 15–20 minutes or so.

And there you have it: vegetarian cannelloni with a mushroom filling. With these quantities, I ended up with two substantial, man-sized portions. Enjoy!