so this is the first post in this blog that has me cooking. i do enjoy cooking but usually don’t have the time. circumstances were with me yesterday and so i volunteered to make a pasta dish at home, and sharing with you guys in case you’re in need of ideas.
the two most important things for this recipe were the mushrooms. i used baby portabello and white button – both purchased from rustan’s. i used more white button than portabello, just to balance the earthiness. so if you’re going for around 20 cannelloni, 4-6 baby portabello and 6-8 white button mushrooms should be fine.
i cooked these in olive oil, garlic (be generous with the garlic) and salt and pepper. then set them aside. next i took bacon – 1/4 kilo for the 20 cannelloni – chopped them, then put them in a pan to get the fat out. i then put the cooked bacon with the mushrooms. in the bacon fat i sauteed a little ground pork – which i chose to use for the fat to keep the cannelloni moist. then i mixed them all together – mushrooms, pork and bacon then began stuffing the pasta.
next was the sauce. very simple stuff. i threw in garlic, onions, carrots, and celery into a pot. when they were almost soft i put in tomato sauce and a fistful of parsley. simmered for a few minutes, let cool, then poured over the stuffed cannelloni.
i left the vegetables whole mainly for the texture and i think it worked. throw the whole thing into a hot oven for 20 minutes and it’s good to eat.