Category: Italian

Gourmet Traveller’s Gremolata-crumbed Whiting with Warm Baked Potato Salad

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

We love anything from Gourmet Traveller and I found this recipe in one of their books I picked up in a local community library.

And sure, it is a simple recipe though in fairness, the book is called ‘Simple’. Doh!

And excuse the photo which was more about the memory rather than publishing: for the fish is great though my goodness, we both agreed this is one of the best potato salads we have ever had. (And we didn’t see it coming.)

And of course, it is simple!

The next time we are asked to bring a salad to a BBQ, this is it.

Though do the fish as well. Just a cracking and special weekday meal.

Ingredients

1/4 c flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
Grated rind of 1 lemon
3 c day-old breadcrumbs, dried in oven until crisp
2 tsp capers, drained and chopped
12 whiting fillets (we used John Dory)
1/2 c plain flour
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp water*
Vegetable oil, for shallow frying
Lemon wedges to serve

Dressing

2 tbsp sour cream
2 tbsp whole-egg mayonnaise
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Warm baked potato salad

800gm chat potatoes, halved
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small Spanish onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tbsp chopped sage leaves

Method

  1. For dressing, whisk all the ingredients with 1 tbsp water in a small bowl until well combined, then season to taste.
  2. For warm baked potato salad, place potatoes in a roasting tray, drizzle with the olive oil, season to taste, and toss gently to combine. Bake at 200c for 20 minutes, then add the onion, toss to combine and bake for another 10 – 15 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. Just before serving, toss the potato mixture with dressing, then gently stir the herbs through.
  3. Meanwhile, combine parsley, lemon rind, breadcrumbs and capers in a shallow bowl and season to taste. Dust fish in flour, shaking away excess, and dip in egg mixture, then coat in breadcrumbs mixture, pressing crumbs onto the fish to coat evenly. Shallow-fry crumbed fillets, in batches, in hot vegetable oil for 2 minutes each side or until golden and cooked through, then drain on absorbent paper.
  4. Serve crumbed fish immediately with warm baked potato salad and lemon wedges to the side.

* It is a bit of a bugbear of ours, though you will always need at least twice the egg mixture called for so prepare yourself for this inevitability.

Jennifer Segal’s Big Italian Salad

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 6

I really don’t think you can get any more classier than a salad of green leaves.

Add a cracking vinaigrette to mop up after a cracking bistecca or an amazing pasta and it’s almost the palette cleanser. The sign the first parts of the meal have come to an end and it’s time to open a new red, pause and talk about the cheese options on hand.

Sometimes though, things call for a salad as big as the main.

Something bold and comforting in itself.

Not just for mopping.

This salad is a great example.

It’s moorish. The second half of a pasta lunch.

It’s a meal in and of itself.

Don’t be confused. It isn’t classy.

More meaty, sans the meat.

Though it’s a lovely salad when the time calls for it.

(Sidenote! This is my 600th recipe on Robby Dog Cooks. Time flies when you’re having fun!)

Ingredients

For the vinaigrette

1 c loosely packed fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 c loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 tsp dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/3 c red wine vinegar
3/4 c extra virgin olive oil
Heaping 3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp honey

For the salad

1 large head romaine lettuce, torn into large, bite-sized pieces
1 large capsicum, chopped
1 c seeded and chopped cucumbers
1 to 2 carrots, peeled into ribbons
Handful grape tomatoes, halved
Handful pitted olives
Feta, crumbled to taste

Method

  1. To make the vinaigrette, combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz.
  2. Place all the salad ingredients in a bowl except the feta. Just before serving, add about half the vinaigrette and toss, adding more if need be. Toss in the cheese and season.

Valeria Necchio’s Duck Ragù with Bigoli

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 6

Another absolutely incredible Valeria Necchio pasta.

Another pasta well at the peak of our ongoing ‘world’s greatest pasta challenge’ as we countdown the days to the arrival of Baby #4.

There is something so wonderfully subtle and scented about the ragù. This is class on a plate. 2-hat pasta class and I’m not overstating that.

Wow.

Nat made a nutty wholemeal pasta to go alongside and it just delivered that final, extra kick. If you don’t make your own pasta, try and find bigoli as your pasta.

I made the ragù ahead of time and reheated it with a knob of butter to add a little silk. I commend this to you.

Otherwise, this is the occasion to chill a good Vermentino, sprinkle plenty of Parmesan on the pasta, serve a side bowl of green leaves and enjoy.

This is why life is good.

Ingredients

500gm of minced duck, including fat and skin*
2 garlic cloves, slightly crushed
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
240ml of dry white wine
480ml of duck stock or vegetable stock
2 juniper berries
2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Knob of butter when reheating

To serve

500gm of fresh bigoli pasta (or thick fresh spaghetti)
100gm of Parmesan

Method

  1. To make the duck ragù, heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the garlic and rosemary and allow them to infuse in the oil for a few minutes, stirring often.
  2. Add the duck mince and increase the heat to a medium-high heat. Cook for 4 – 5 minutes, until evenly browned and season generously.
  3. Pour in the wine and stock and add the juniper berries. Bring everything to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook the ragù for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally and adding a little stock if the ragù becomes too dry.
  4. Once the liquid has reduced completely and only an oily sauce remains, remove from the heat and discard the rosemary, juniper and garlic. Cover and keep warm.
  5. Cook your pasta and drain. Reheat the ragù, adding a little butter. Toss through the ragù with the pasta and half the Parmesan. Serve with the rest of the Parmesan.

* I left the procurement of duck for this recipe quite late and only had the option of duck breasts with the skin and fat. I was concerned that this would not be fatty enough for a ragù, though after mincing and cooking, rest assured it is. 3 duck breasts is about what you need here.

Jamie Oliver’s 12-hour (overnight) Roasted Pork Shoulder

.Reading time 5 minutes.

Serves: 12

I don’t cook a lot of Jamie Oliver recipes.

His stuff is always great though a little mass-market for what we are often aiming for on a Saturday night. (Please, don’t get me wrong here: he is amazing! We just try to stretch a bit further when given the opportunity.)

Though lordy, when it comes to a roast – which I rarely do, grumbles Nat – Jamie Oliver and his Italian roasts are in an incredible league. This Arrosto Misto I typed up years ago is a testament to the point.

This particular roast was even more outstanding.

A labour of love – and time – it was the sort of 1-hat roast you would die for in a great Italian restaurant on a ‘Sunday roast’ afternoon. Add in the crackling and this is bravo level.

I embellished the gravy component over what Jamie called for.

I served up steamed green beans on the side.

An extra serving of those incredible potatoes and wow.

Play with the apple cider vinegar though get it right and this is just an epic meal. Sunday lunch or dinner, this is what I am talking about.

Ingredients*

* I halved the recipe successfully.

5kg shoulder of pork, bone-in, skin removed and reserved
Olive oil
4 onions
2 – 3 eating apples
3 sticks of celery
1 bulb of garlic
1 bunch fresh sage
4 fresh bay leaves
500ml bottle of cider
2 tbsp fennel seeds
2 whole cloves
2 dried chillies
Salt and freshly cracked pepper
Steamed green beans to serve

Fennel and Potato Gratin

1.5kg potatoes
5 bulbs of fennel
4 cloves of garlic
4 anchovy fillets
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
100gm Parmesan cheese
400ml double cream
200ml single cream
Salt and freshly cracked pepper

For the Gravy

1 c chicken stock
3 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Salt and freshly cracked pepper
Reserved drippings from the cooked pork

Zingy Salsa

2 eating apples
1 tbsp cider
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 bunch mint
Salt and freshly cracked pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 250c. Toss the reserved pork skin in a little oil and sea salt, lay it flat on a tray and roast until golden and crisp. Set aside. Reduce the oven to 130c.
  2. Peel the onions and cut them into wedges with the apples. Trim and roughly chop the celery and slice the garlic bulb in half horizontally. Scatter it all in your largest roasting tray with the sage and bay leaves, pour in the cider and add a good splash of water.
  3. Bash the fennel seeds, cloves, dried chillies and 1 heaped tsp salt into fine dust in a mortar and pestle, then massage all over the pork with a drizzle of oil. Sit the pork in the tray, cover tightly with a double layer of foil, place in the oven and roast for 10 – 12 hours, or until the meat pulls easily away from the bone. Drain the drippings from the tray and set the pork aside, covered in a couple of clean tea towels to keep warm. Turn the oven up to 200c.
  4. Whilst the pork is cooking, peel the potatoes and cut lengthways into wedges along with the fennel. Parboil the potatoes for 7 minutes and the fennel for 6 minutes, then drain and leave to steam dry completely. Place in a large roasting tray. Peel the garlic and blitz until fine with the anchovies, rosemary leaves and a good splash of boiling water in a blender. Finely grate in half the nutmeg and most of the Parmesan and pour in the cream. Add a pinch of pepper and salt, blitz again and pour over the vegetables. Sprinkle over the remaining Parmesan and bake for 45 – 50 min, or until golden and bubbling.
  5. For the gravy, in a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock, apple cider vinegar and reserved drippings. Stir in the flour, combine and season.
  6. For the salsa, chop the apples into fine matchsticks and toss in a bowl with 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar and 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Finely slice the mint leaves and toss into the bowl with salt and pepper
  7. Serve the pork with the gravy and the salsa on top, potatoes and beans at the side. If you haven’t had a wine by this point, pour a double. You have earnt it!

Valeria Necchio’s Casoncelli – Pork, Beef, Raisin and Amaretti Ravioli

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Serves: 6

Holy shit, this recipe is just incredible.

“Decident” said Nat. “Marvellous” I said. “I don’t want this to end” said Nat.

And boy, wasn’t that the truth.

Yes, in our pre-baby #4 quest to find the world’s greatest pasta, this is truly, truly in the running.

This pasta separates itself from the wonderful though simple Lidia Bastianich and Antonio Carluccio pastas we have been pushing, taking it up a level in finesse and clarity.

This pasta jumps over this otherwise incredible white ragu, being more sophisticated: less steam train, more race car.

And look, this Rodney Dunn Mushroom Cannelloni with fresh pasta sheets was one of the best pastas we have cooked.

Though in terms of peak genius, this Casoncelli is just so much more refined. Just so much more ‘in the moment’ special.

We used sliced roast beef from the supermarket. Otherwise, everything is straightforward.

Slightly depressed to read this is a common dish in the Bergamo and Brescia parts of Italy, though I guess we’ve always known the Italians have truly the best food lives. I guess we have our beaches here in Sydney however. (I know which I would take!)

If you are like us and want to chase the Saturday-night pasta hit, this my friend is unquestionably the next rung in the ladder.

Ingredients

Pasta dough

Make my Kitchenaid Pasta dough

Filling

1 tbsp unsalted butter
150gm Italian sausage meat, crumbled
100gm roast beef, minced
120gm breadcrumbs
1 medium egg
70gm Parmesean, grated
10gm Amaretti biscuits (about 3), crushed
10gm raisins, soaked, squeezed and then chopped
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Sauce

80gm unsalted butter
80gm pancetta, cut into thin strips
4 sage leaves
80gm Parmesean, grated

Method

  1. Make the pasta per my Kitchenaid Pasta Dough Recipe.
  2. Make the filling: brown the sausage meat with the butter over a medium heat, then add the roast beef and cook for a few minutes, stirring often, so the flavours can mingle together. Transfer to a bowl, then add the breadcrumbs, egg, Parmesean, amaretti and raisins. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
  3. Roll the pasta in a pasta machine to setting 2. Using a round 7 – 8cm ravioli cutter, cut out as many circles of pasta as you can get.
  4. Place a tsp of the filling at the centre of each circle, then gently fold it over to form a half moon. Press the edges together using a fork.
  5. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Meanwhile, in a frypan set over a medium heat, melt the butter for the sauce. Add the pancetta and sage and fry for a few minutes, until crispy.
  6. Cook the casoncelli in boiling water for a few minutes until they float to the top. Drain with a slotted spoon and transfer to the frying pan with pancetta and butter sauce. Sauté for 30 seconds, until evenly dressed.
  7. Serve immediately with a dusting of grated Parmesean.

Mushroom Risotto

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 6

When I was a much younger man, I used to make mushroom risotto all the time.

In hindsight, I used too much white wine and not having the waiting, scalding stock was truly counterproductive.

I also didn’t used reserved mushrooms which are half the mushrooms in this recipe, a suggestion of Nat’s and one that just adds meat, epecially with the cup of reserved soaking water. And set aside at least 30 minutes to saute the mushrooms.

Quiet winter Saturday lunch with a glass of white?

I think I am going to get back into mushroom risotto. Nat said it was the best she has had and that for me is the door ajar!

Ingredients

6 c chicken stock or broth, heated in a pan
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
500gm brown or other mushrooms, thinly sliced
100gm dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in boiling water for an hour, then sliced; reserve 1 c of the soaking water
2 eschallots, diced
1 1/2 c Arborio rice
1/2 c dry white wine
4 tbsp softened butter
3 tbsp finely chopped chives
1/3 c grated Parmesean cheese
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Method

  1. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a large frypan and saute the mushrooms for a good 20 – 30 minutes, seasoning to taste. Set aside.
  2. At the same time, add the remaining 1 tbsp oil to a saucepan over a low-medium heat and saute the eschallots for a minute or two. Add the rice, coat with the oil and slowly toast until their colour is pale, golden. About 2 minutes.
  3. Pour in the wine and stir until the wine is full absorbed. Laddle 1/2 c of the hot stock and stir until combined. Continue this process – adding the reserved soaking liquid at some point – until the risotto is creamy.*
  4. Stir in the reserved mushrooms, butter, Parmesan and chives and stir through. Season and serve immediately. With white wine!

* It is a personal preference, though I prefer a creamy risotta and not one with bite. Obviously, cook it to your preference.


Lidia Bastianich’s Linguine with Bacon and Onions

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4 – 6

I described this recipe to a cooking mate and he said, “so you cooked Carbonara” and I said “sort of, though with onions and less egg yolks” and he said said “so you cooked Carbonara with onions”.

He’s right, though I’m typing it because it is a sensational pasta – one where Nat made our own linguini – as well that the addition of the onions really are lovely, especially with the size of the cut of the onion.

If making your own pasta, we always use this amazing Kitchenaid pasta dough recipe and suggest you do too!

Fresh pasta is your every-time trump card.

Find the thickest bacon you can find, crisp it up, open a good red and this is a thoroughly enjoyable lunch.

Another Lidia win.

Ingredients

Salt
180gm slab bacon, ideally in one piece – or thick bacon
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 large yellow onions, , sliced 1.5cm thick (about 3 cups)
1 1/2 c hot chicken stock
500gm linguini
3 egg yolks
1 c freshly grated Parmesean cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil.
  2. Cut the bacon into 1cm slices and heat the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, untilthe bacon is lightl browned, but still soft in the centre, about 6 minutes.
  3. If there is more and 3 – 4 tbsp of fat in the skillet at this point, pour off the excess. If less, top up to 3 – 4 tbsp with olive oil. Add the onions and cook until wilted though still crunchy, about 4 – 5 minutes. Add the stock, bring to the boil and adjust the heat to a lively simmer. Cook until the liquid us reduced by half.
  4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta until al dente reserving some pasta water.
  5. Laddle a cup of the pasta water and add it to the sauce along with the drained pasta. Bring to the boil, stirring to coat the pasta with sauce and adding stock or water as necessary to make it a generous coat.
  6. Remove the pan from the heat and add the egg yolks one at a time, tossing them through the pasta. Add the grated cheese and black pepper, toss through and serve.

Pinbone’s Peas, Beans, Ricotta and Mint Bruschetta

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Serves: 6

What an absolutely lovely, fresh way to kick off a lazy Sunday lunch.

Nat and I never went to the restaurant Pinbone, though we did have dinner at their successor – I Maccheroni – a few weeks back and it was a really lovely Italian meal.

For this dish, I started with the foccacia and as the non-bread maker in the family, this turned out to be a real trick. Though not in the tricky vein.

Follow the instructions, lose faith at some point, though watch the dough transform and transform and wow. An absolutely wonderful base for the dish, with just enough oil to be interesting, a cracking crust and a soft interior. Yum.

It’s then the simplicity of the ricotta and the peas and beans. You don’t really need four varieties here and I swapped out Italian beans for the broadbeans. Though add the olive oil, lemon juice and then the mint and a big paste of ricotta, and with a glass of Champagne… this is why life is so good.

And can be so simple.

If I showed up to lunch and was handed one of these with a glass of wine, wow. What a way to set the bar and clear intentions of the afternoon ahead.

Ingredients

50gm sugarsnap peas, coarsely chopped
50gm frozen baby peas
50gm podded broad beans (about 150gm unpodded) – I substituted Italian beans and coarsely chopped
50gm podded edamame*
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil
150gm ricotta
1/4 cup mint, coarsely torn

Focaccia

460gm baker’s flour
1 tsp brown sugar
7gm (1 sachet) dried yeast
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve

Method


  1. For the focaccia, combine 450gm flour and 1 1/2 tsp salt in an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Lightly whisk remaining flour, sugar and dried yeast in a separate bowl with 300ml lukewarm water, then leave until bubbles appear (5 – 7 minutes). Add oil to the yeast mixture, then, with the mixer on low speed, add yeast mixture to the flour and knwad until smooth and elastic (8 – 9 minutes). Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place until nearly doubled in size (20 – 30 minutes). Preheat the over to 230x. Gently knock back the dough, cover and prove until nearly doubled in size again (10 – 15 minutes). Transfer to a well-oiled 12cm x 23cm load pan**. Cover and leave to prove until about 1cm below top of tin (15 minutes), then bake until golden brown and the focaccia sounds hollow when tapped on the base (25 – 30 minutes). Cool on a rack (about 1 hour), then cut into 12 slices.
  2. Brinf a saucepan of salted water to the boil and blanch peas and bans for 20 – 30 seconds until bright green and still crunchy. Drain, then peel broadbeans and mix with lemon juice, oil and remaining peas and beans in a bowl and season to taste.
  3. Toast/grill the focaccia slices until well toasted.
  4. Spread the ricotta on focaccia, spoon pea and bean mixture on top, scatter with mint, extra virgin olive oil and serve.

* Frozen section of the supermarket.

** We’ve been baking our focaccias in a large, heavy skillet to great effect. Just keep and eye on it. These skillets get so hot, it brings forward the cooking time. This focaccia was done in 18 minutes in the skillet.

Lidia Bastianich’s Ziti with Broccolini and Sausage

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

Excited! Nat is just over five months pregnant with baby #4, our first girl!

The spell is broken!

Our schedule of long lunches has been tempered somewhat and much less wine is being decanted. Though we’re having a girl!

It hasn’t meant the cooking has dialed down however. Quite the opposite.

Nat has gone headfirst into dough. Breads, pastry and pasta.

Especially the pasta, where we are determined with each cook to find just brilliant pasta. Stuff that screams: how good is life.

It starts with fresh pasta. In this instance, ziti, a small thin tube similar to a penne.

If making your own pasta, we always use this amazing Kitchenaid pasta dough recipe and suggest you do too!

And this sauce. Which I have adapted slightly and which is just sublime.

Almost as good as it gets. The second pasta we have cooked with a residual liquid which is just fun, so bloody good. Half the point of the dish. (Check out this white ragu which is just incredible.)

My point on the adaptation is a few.

I found the recipe on Lidia’s website and it didn’t quite translate.

I’ve crumbled the sausage meat here. Halved the broccoli and then used broccolini instead, which I cut into 3cm pieces. And guessed at the butter – measurement missing otherwise – which based on her previous recipes, was on the mark.

As Nat says, you need things to look forward to during the waiting period and pasta seems to have become our thing. No complaints there and absolutely no complaints with this pasta.

Sublime as I said. 1 hat good. Totally great restaurant stuff.

Ingedients

1 tbsp olive oil
500gm Italian sausage meat, removed from skins
500gm broccolini
3 tsp sea salt
500gm ziti
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp chilli flakes
1 c chicken stock
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 c grated Parmesan

Method

  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan over a medium-heat and pan fry the sausage meat, breaking it up as you go. Fry until slightly browned, drain from the oil and set aside.
  2. Wash the broccolini, drain and cut into 3cm pieces.
  3. Heat a large pot with boiling water and cook the ziti until al dente.
  4. In a large, deep, heavy skillet with a fitted lid, heat the olive oil, add the garlic and sauté, uncovered until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the broccolini, 1/4 tsp salt and pepper flakes, cover, and steam 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Stir in the sausage. Add the butter and stock and cook uncovered, over a high heat, about 3 minutes, until the liquids are slightly reduced.
  6. Add the drained pasta to the sauce and toss gently. Sprinkle on half the cheese, toss again, serve immediately and distribute the remaining cheese over the pasta.

Rodney Dunn’s Mushroom Cannelloni

.Reading time 5 minutes.

Serves: 6 -8

Nat and I did a cooking class with Rodney Dunn a few years ago when we spent a week in Hobart.

It was an awesome afternoon; true paddock to plate stuff, where every ingredient came from his farm. We cooked in his large country kitchen and then ate lunch in a wonderful dining room surrounded by cookbooks and sampling some amazing Tasmanian pinots.

An afternoon that Nat and I still talk about.

Rodney Dunn’s food is about body, flavour and honesty.

This salad of his is a great example.

This mushroom cannelloni is an amazing example.

We’ve slightly adapted the recipe by blitzing the mushrooms and combining them with the ricotta and I think this made a textural improvement on keeping the mushrooms whole.

Though its the flavours that cannot be doubted.

Absoluely beautiful.

The homemade pasta is so good, you’re eating something elevated far above a cannelloni with tubes from the shops. (If making your own pasta, we always use this amazing Kitchenaid pasta dough recipe and suggest you do too!)

And the filling and the Béchamel!

This would be a signature dish in a good Italian restaurant.

Hitting a pasta homerun is my favourite thing and hands-down this pasta is a homerun.

Ingredients

580gm ricotta, drained
2 eggs, lightly beaten
100gm Parmesan, finely grated
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
4 garic cloves, thinly sliced
3 spring onions (white part only), thinly sliced
300gm Swiss brown mushhrooms, coarsely chopped
250gm large flat mushrooms, coarsely chopped
6 sage leaves, thinly sliced
1 tsp thyme leaves
30gm dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in 200ml warm water for 10 minutes, drained and soaking liquid reserved

Pasta dough

1 1/2 c plain flour
1/2 c coarse semolina
2 eggs
For drizzling: olive oil

Béchamel sauce

100gm butter, coarsely chopped
1/3 c plain flour
550ml warm milk
1/4 c finely grated Parmesan
Pinch of finely grated nutmeg, or to taste

Method

  1. For pasta dough, pulse flour and semolina in a food processor until combined. With motor running, add eggs, then gradually add 20ml iced water and process until mixture just comes together. Remove dough, knead until smooth (5 – 7 minutes), wrap in plastic wrap and res at room temperature (1 hour). Divide pasta into four, then using a pasta roller, roll until ou have pasta 2mm in thickness. Cut pasta into ten 12cm x 15cm pieces. Cook in a large saucepan of boiling salted water over high heat until al dente (1 minute), drain and refresh, drizzle with a little oil, set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 180c. Press ricotta through a fine sieve into a large bowl, then combine with eggs and 75gm Parmesan, season to taste and set aside.
  3. Heat extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add garlic and spring onion, sauté until starting to soften (2 – 3 minutes). Add the mushrooms and herbs and sauté until tender (8 – 10 minutes). Add prorcini and soaking liquid, simmer until liquid has been reduced (7 – 10 minutes), season to taste and set aside to cool. When cool, blitz in a food processor until consistency of mince and stir in with the ricotta mixture.
  4. For béchamel, heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat until foaming (1-2 minutes), add flour and stir until mixture is light brown in colour (2-3 minutes). Whisk in warm milk, a little at a time, and stir until beginning to bubble (2-3 minutes), remove from heat, add parmesan, season to taste with salt, freshly ground black pepper and nutmeg, set aside.
  5. Spoon ricotta into a piping bag fitted with a 2cm-plain nozzle, pipe across the middle of each piece of pasta, top with mushrooms and roll to enclose. Arrange cannelloni in a 25cm x 35cm buttered baking dish. Spoon béchamel on top, scatter with remaining parmesan and bake until golden and warmed through (30-40 minutes).