Cannelloni with Spinach, Ricotta, Mussels & Parmigiano.

musselsseafoodcannelloniricottaspinachsabayon

SERVES

TOTAL

100m

ACTIVE

65m

LVL

HARD

./images/cannelloni-mussels-spinach-ricotta/POSTER.SVG ITALIAN

// SUMMARY

An instant classic at Le Pristine, the Italian restaurant in Antwerp: two fat cannelloni of spinach and ricotta, steamed rather than baked, buried under mussels and a mousseline whipped with vin jaune. The sauce is the difficult part — a warm yolk sabayon enriched with melted butter — and the sea buckthorn oil at the end is what makes the plate look and taste like the restaurant version.

// INGREDIENTS

SRV :: 2

1		shallot, finely chopped
0.5		garlic clove, minced
— 1½ tbsp olive oil
200	g	spinach, washed and stems removed
125	g	ricotta
2	tbsp	freshly grated Parmesan
— Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
5		egg yolks
5	tbsp	water
25	ml	ready-made gastrique, or tarragon vinegar
3	tbsp	vin jaune, or dry Sherry
250	g	salted butter, melted
1	tbsp	heavy cream
1	pinch	cayenne pepper
0.5	tsp	lemon juice
2		fresh sheets of lasagna
250	g	mussels
1	tbsp	freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for finishing
— Olive oil, for drizzling
— A few sprigs of bronze fennel or dill
0.5	tsp	freshly ground black pepper
0.5	tsp	sea buckthorn berry oil

// METHOD

01
Heat a pan over medium heat and sweat the shallot and garlic in the olive oil.
02
Add the spinach, let it **wilt only slightly**, and season with salt and pepper.
03
Take the pan off the heat, tip everything into a colander and let it cool. Draining matters — wet filling will burst the cannelloni.
04
Put the cooled spinach in a bowl, mix in the ricotta and season again with salt and pepper. Stir in the 2 tbsp Parmesan.
05
Cook the lasagna sheets in salted water with a splash of olive oil, following the packet.
06
Cool them in cold water, then drizzle with olive oil so they don't stick.
07
Spoon a line of about **3 tbsp filling** onto each sheet and roll each one up **tightly** into a cannellone.
08
Drizzle with a little more olive oil and cover with cling film until needed.
09
In a small saucepan over **low heat**, whisk the egg yolks with the 5 tbsp water, the gastrique or tarragon vinegar and the vin jaune.
10
Keep whisking until the yolks are light and cooked through — **at least 5 minutes**. Be patient and do not turn the heat up, or they will scramble.
11
Gradually whisk in the melted butter until the sauce is **light, thick and creamy**.
12
Add the cream, season with cayenne, brighten with the lemon juice and fold everything gently together.
13
Meanwhile cook the mussels by the classic method — aromatics, mussels on top, wine, lid on, high heat until they open. Pick them out of their shells and **keep them warm in their cooking liquid**.
14
Steam the cannelloni in a bamboo or conventional steamer for **5 minutes**, or in a steam oven at **140 °C for 8–10 minutes**.
15
Grate a generous amount of Parmesan over them.
16
Place the cannelloni on warm plates, arrange the mussels over the top and spoon over some of the mousseline.
17
Finish with bronze fennel or dill, the black pepper and the sea buckthorn berry oil, then grate a little more Parmesan over the mussels.

// NOTES

— The mousseline is a warm sabayon and behaves like hollandaise: it will split if it gets too hot. Keep the pan barely warm, and if it does break, whisk a fresh yolk with a splash of water in a clean pan and stream the broken sauce into it.
— Vin jaune is a Jura oxidative white and hard to find. Dry Sherry — the book's own substitute — is the practical answer; a dry Fino or Amontillado both work.
— Gastrique here means a ready-made reduced vinegar syrup. Tarragon vinegar is the stated alternative, and simpler.
— Sea buckthorn berry oil is a finishing oil from health-food shops or online. It is sharp and orange and there is no real substitute; leave it out rather than replace it, or use a few drops of a good lemon oil.
— Bronze fennel is the dark-leaved ornamental fennel. Dill is the book's own substitute and is easier to buy.
— Make-ahead: the filling and the rolled cannelloni can be done a day ahead. The mousseline cannot — make it in the last 15 minutes.
— Mussel amount: "a scant ½ pound" — 200–250 g in the shell, which is only a handful of mussels per plate. This is a pasta dish with mussels on top, not a mussel dish.
— Steaming, not baking, is the point: the pasta stays silky and nothing browns.

// VARIATIONS

→ No steamer: sit the cannelloni on a plate over a pan of simmering water, covered, for 6–8 minutes.
→ Simpler sauce: a straight hollandaise finished with a spoonful of the mussel cooking liquid gets you most of the way there.
→ More mussels: double them to 500 g and it becomes a proper main course rather than a restaurant-sized plate.

// SOURCE

Sergio Herman — Mussels, p. 52 (Le Pristine, Antwerp)

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