This is more then just a pasta! The mushroom mixed with spinach, mixed with sour cream, mixed with basil… Yummmmy. I made a pot of mushroom ragu, and keep the rest in the fridge for further use!

Spinach mixture
400g fresh spinach, washed very well and stems discarded
Nutmeg for grating
Olive oil

• Roughly chop the spinach into manageable pieces (1-2″ or so).
• In a saucepan, heat a small quantity of olive oil and add the spinach, tossing a few times and leave to wilt. Season with salt, pepper, and a grating of nutmeg.
• At this point you can leave it to cool, then pack it in a ziplock bag and freeze for a week if desired.

Mushroom ragù (Red sauce)
A small handful of dried porcini (I used Chinese mushrooms)
1/4 cup olive oil
3 carrots, peeled and diced finely
4 ribs celery, trimmed and diced finely
1 large red onion, peeled and diced finely
1 leek, trimmed and outer leaves discarded, diced finely
2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced finely
5 medium Portobello mushrooms, chopped
70 oz (4 lbs 6 oz or 2kg) good-quality canned plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
A large bunch fresh basil, leaves picked and stems finely chopped

• In a small bowl, add the dried porcini and enough boiling water to cover and leave to soak for 5 minutes.
• In a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat, add the olive oil, carrots, celery, onion, and leek. Cook for 10 minutes.
• Then add the garlic and Portobello mushrooms.
• Drain the porcini, reserving the liquor, and add the porcini to the pan. Cook for 5 more minutes until all the vegetables are tender.
• Add the porcini liquor and 1 cup (250mL) water and allow to reduce for about 4 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and chopped basil stalks. Season with salt and pepper, then bring to a boil. Simmer for up to 45 minutes or until you have a very thick ragù.
• Tear in the basil leaves and give it a stir.
• At this point you can cool the sauce to room temperature and freeze for up to a week; however, upon defrosting you’ll have to heat it up until it is actually hot.

White sauce
1 cup (250g) double cream or heavy cream
1 cup (250g) sour cream
4 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and finely chopped (I didn’t add anchovy)
A handful (about 60g) of Parmesan cheese

• Stir everything together, then season with salt and pepper as desired.

18 oz (500g) canneloni tubes (I cooked them in boiling water for about 2-3 minutes)
Parmesan cheese, for grating
Olive oil

• Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
• In your ovenproof pan, add in 1/2 of the white sauce and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.
• Top with the spinach evenly.
• Ladle in about half of the mushroom ragù and stand the canneloni tubes in it. Press down on the tubes until the bottom reaches the spinach.
• Spoon the rest of the ragù over the tubes and smooth it over the holes.
• Pour over the rest of the white sauce, sprinkle with more grated Parmesan, then drizzle with olive oil.
• Bake for 45 minutes until golden and bubbling.

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Categories: Pasta (Makarnalar) ~ ~ Trackback