Chicken, Mushroom and Leek Cannelloni with Cauliflower Béchamel

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Servings 6

Ingredients

250g San Remo Cannelloni
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 leek, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 thyme sprigs
100g bacon, diced
700g chicken mince
300g Swiss brown mushrooms, diced
¼ cup dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated in warm water
Salt and pepper
1 egg
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

For the Béchamel
¼ cauliflower, chopped roughly 
2L full cream milk
2 bay leaves
100g butter
100g plain flour

Method

Preheat oven to 180°C.

To make the filling for the cannelloni, in a fry pan add the olive oil, leek, garlic, thyme and bacon. Begin to fry off for a few minutes, allowing the mix to soften and gain a light colour.

Add the chicken mince, allowing it to brown off. Chop the porcini and add them to the pan with the Swiss brown mushrooms and fry off, whilst adding the liquid from the porcini. Allow the liquid to reduce down. Season with salt and pepper and allow to cool completely.

For the béchamel, cook the cauliflower in the milk with the bay leaves in a pot on the stove, until soft and breaking apart. Remove the bay leaves, and blitz the cauliflower and milk mixture until smooth.

In a separate pot, create a roux by melting the butter and whisking it into the flour. Slowly pour in the milk and cauliflower mixture and whisk to combine, allowing the mixture to cook out until it has thickened and the flour is no longer raw.

Add the egg and the parmesan cheese to the cooled chicken and mushroom mixture, and mix further to combine. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag, and fill each cannelloni shell. Once all shells are filled, set aside.

Pour half the béchamel onto the bottom of a large rectangular baking dish, forming a bed for the cannelloni. Place the filled cannelloni shells on top and pour the rest of the béchamel over the top to cover.

Cover the dish with foil and bake the cannelloni for 30 minutes, then remove the foil, turn the temperature up to 200°C and cook for a further 10-15 minutes or until golden and crispy on top.