Cannelloni with asparagus
A tasty starter for when you have guests.
• 1 box of cannelloni pasta
• 200g cubed veal
• 200g cubed pork
• 100g ham
• 300g asparagus, steamed
• 1 jar of marinated artichoke hearts
• 1 egg
• 60g grated parmesan
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• ½ litre milk
• 80g butter
• 1 handful of parsley
• Nutmeg
• Salt
• Pepper
1. Sear the meat in 40g butter. Season with salt and pepper. In a food processor, grind the veal and pork together with the ham, artichokes and parsley. Add the egg and 30g parmesan to the meat mixture and blend thoroughly.
2. For the béchamel, melt the remaining butter in a saucepan. Add the flour and cook it out for a minute or so before adding the milk, salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Continue cooking but remove from heat before it thickens. The sauce should be fluid. Stir in remaining parmesan and steamed asparagus.
3. Cook the cannelloni in a pot of boiling salt water. Strain and stuff each pasta cylinder with the meat filling.
4. Line the bottom of an ovenproof dish with béchamel. Arrange the stuffed cannelloni on top. Cover the cannelloni with the remaining béchamel sauce. Bake in preheated oven at 180°C for about 15 minutes.