Introduction: DELICIOUS ORGANIC SPINACH AND BOTTOM MUSHROOMS CANNELLONI FROM SCRATCH

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About: I am a Spanish-dutch architecture design professor, in China with passion to be creative in any field. Plenty of love for my family and friends, with whose I love to share laughs and lovely moments. I think ev…

Who does not get a watering mouth thinking about a creamy cheesy crunchy top, with delicate thin rolls of homemade pasta filled with more tangy spinach and bottom mushrooms and a rich tomato sauce.... melting in your mouth!.... Hooooooo!!! so yummy!! ; )

hahaha.. well, in Spain, this recipe is very usual, you can find almost in every traditional home.. but now I live in China and my family is far away... this recipe brings me back to my mind wonderful memories... and although it might not look so "high-cuisine"... the organic ingredients and cozy taste will blow you away! and yeah! make home pasta is easier than you might think!!! give this a try! you will not regret! : )

Step 1: Step 1:First, the Most Important Thing... ​Ingredients:

+pasta dough:

( yes! we will make pasta all by hand! ; )

  • 1 spoon olive oil
  • 200 grams flour
  • up to taste salt
  • 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
  • 1 or 2 tea spoons temperate water (if required, this makes easier to work with)

+filling:

  • 400 grams spinach
  • 300 grams cream cheese
  • 300 grams bottom mushrooms
  • one or two garlic cloves
  • up to taste salt and pepper

+tomato sauce:

This one you can buy, but homemade tastes so much better! Luckily I had an extra jar in my fridge from last time... you can see the recipe in other of my posts. : )

+bechamel sauce:

ooh... this sauce is so wonderful!, for pasta, cannelloni, vegetables... smells delicious gratin just out of the oven.. yummy!

  • 30 grams butter
  • 30 grams flour
  • 400 milk
  • up to taste salt and pepper
  • up to taste nutmeg
  • 2 triangles melted cheese (I used the laughing cow)

+Topping:

up to taste shredded cheese: mozzarella, Emmental, or parmesan.

Note: The tools you need are simple: a pan, a pot, a silicone spatula or a wooden spoon, strainer, knife, cutting board, a clean cloth to set the cooked pasta ... and an oven mould (I used a dispensable oven mould)

Attachments

Step 2: Step 2: Now, We Begin With the Pasta!!

  1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a reasonable big bowl
  2. make a hole in the center
  3. Ad all the wet ingredients
  4. beginning mixing all the wet ingredients always in the same direction
  5. You will see that little by little all the borders from the flour will come together
  6. continue like this until all is well mixed,
  7. make a ball and put inside a plastic bag or film paper let it rest in the fridge at least for 1/2 hour

Step 3:

  1. Clean and slice the spinach in strips
  2. Clean with a brush or a napkin the bottom mushroom, never a good idea to use water (as mushrooms cell structures are like a sponge, absorb all the water and when you cook them, it becomes a soup)
  3. Cut bottom mushrooms in small pieces as well as the garlic
  4. Put on a pan on the fire medium power
  5. Ad some olive oil, the garlic and spinach, put the lid on but let it to breath, mix from time to time
  6. When the spinach have reduced (and it will reduce a lot!), ad the bottom mushrooms, ad salt and peeper up to taste (think that later we will ad the cream cheese and it has also some salt), and let cook for a little longer without lid, until you see it is well mixed and spinach soft but don't cook too much or it will become soggy.
  7. Put in a bowl and ad the cream cheese, mix well and set aside

Step 4: Step 4: Now We Make the Bechamel Sauce:

  1. In the microwave we warm a little the milk
  2. On the bottom of a stainless-steel pot we ad the butter and flour, on medium fire, be careful, not too high or it will burn, we toast a little the flour, it will smell delicious, you can ad here the salt, it will melt and combine well
  3. Now without stopping stirring with what you prefer, wooden spoon, whisk, or a silicone spatula, ad first a good amount of warm milk
  4. Mix with energy!!! it is the best dis-stressful remedy!!! hahaha...
  5. When you see everything is well combined, turn a bit higher the fire and ad little by little the rest of the milk, don't forget to continue stirring, specially the bottom of the pot to avoid sticking and burning, turn to los the fire, and ad the cheese, pepper, nutmeg, try and correct salt in case you need it
  6. You can be more creative here if desired, adding some thinly chopped fresh parsley or whatever, but this is delicious just as it is ; )

Step 5: Step 5: We Are Almost Done!... Now We Go With a Funny Step! Roll Pasta!!!

  1. We take the pasta dough out the fridge and extend your clean cloth near the cooking area for later
  2. On a generously floured clean surface we can put the whole or 1/2 of the ball or even 1/4, the smaller, the easier, sprinkle some more flour around the dough
  3. Now with a rolling pin.. hit some times the dough and begin to extend
  4. You will need patience and energy... but too dis-stressful! hahaha and it is all worth
  5. You continue until it is a little translucent. cut them in squares or rectangles measuring one cm less than the width of your mould and long enough to be rolled
  6. Put aside with more flour between the layers meanwhile you continue
  7. When you have enough, put on high fire a pot plenty of water
  8. When boiling, ad one to three rectangles, cook for a couple minutes and the them out carefully extending them on the clean cloth, letting to drain the water and finish with the remaining pasta rectangle
  9. The leftover pasta you can keep on the fridge inside a plastic bag.. the possibilities are endless

Step 6: Step 6: Here Comes the Easiest Step: Assemble All Together... But in the Correct Order! ; )

  1. Take the oven mould, put some tomato sauce on the bottom (your favorite one or for a homey simple and yet delicious one see here )
  2. with the help of a spoon or the silicone spatula, extend a generous cylinder of the filling one side of the pasta rectangle and roll, if the rectangle is too long, just cut it, don't continue rolling too much, or it will be too much pasta
  3. set all the filled rolls one aside the other
  4. pour enough bechamel sauce an extend to cover all under 2 cm approximately
  5. Ad grated cheese up to taste
  6. you can make several, it makes a fantastic warm-hearted present, or you can store them up to a week covered in the fridge or even freeze them for a month, of course without cooking it, so, you will need just to bake and enjoy the fragrance comping out the oven : ))

Step 7: Step 7: Bake and Gratin in the Oven

  1. Introduce in the pre-heated oven at 180ºC, up and down for 25 min
  2. check desired gratin and take our of the oven
  3. wait... if you can, a little because it will be super hot
  4. Now you can enjoy this delicious vegetable cannelloni!!! it smells delicious and it is sooooooo yummy!... mmmmmm