FATTO A MANO

Being the avid weather forecast checker that I am, I knew the weekend was going to be cold, wet and dreary - which is not really a surprise when you live in Melbourne, even in the middle of summer.

Household discussions on Saturday afternoon quickly turned to dinner ideas.  Thinking ahead and not wanting to waste precious weekend days off, a simple dinner idea quickly escalated into a full-blown affair and it was decided not only was an Italian main on the menu, but also a French dessert (I know these are different cuisines but the dessert idea simply could not be tossed aside once the seed was planted).

Another good excuse for this idea - not that one was even needed - was that the pasta roller had been neglected for far too long in the far reaches of the kitchen cupboard.  In quick succession, a trip to the market was made, followed by the liquor store (for the cooking wine, I promise...), then back home via some gusty wind to dust off the pasta roller and start the hours of preparation. 

It is quite interesting to note that usually, the dishes that take the most time and effort seem to be inhaled off the plate in a matter of minutes.  Seeing all that hard work disappear so quickly is not disheartening in the slightest - somehow it reinforces the fact that food made with such effort and enthusiasm are so tasty that people cannot wait to get stuck in.

cannelloni with fava beans and ricotta

pasta

  150g Italian '00' flour

  150g fine semolina flour

  1tbsp olive oil

  2 large/3 medium free range eggs

  pinch sea salt

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius.  Heap the flour and semolina into a circle on a clean work surface.  Sprinkle over salt and mix well.  Make a well in the flour for the eggs and break in, one at a time, with the olive oil.  Work the mixture together until it forms a firm dough.  Shape into a ball and wrap in cling film.  Set aside until required.

Once required, roll out the pasta dough until wafer-thin and cut into 8x8cm squares (alternatively, work the dough through a pasta roller until very thin and cut to length).  Sprinkle the cut pasta with semolina flour and let to stand for 10-15 minutes.

Once almost dry, cook the pasta in batches in boiling salted water for 2 minutes.  Drain when cooked but al dente and lay flat until ready to fill.

filling

  1kg fava (broad) beans, shelled

  350g ricotta

  100g pecorino, grated

  1 large garlic clove, crushed

  handful mint, chopped

  sea salt and pepper, to taste

Boil the beans until tender (approximately 10 minutes).  Drain and leave to cool.  Once cool, place half the beans in a food processer and pulse, leaving some texture.  Place with remaining beans and add the ricotta, pecorino, mint, garlic, salt and pepper.  Mix well and set aside.

besciamella sauce

  600ml milk

  2 slices onion

  1 bay leaf

  1 blade mace

  3 parsley stalks, bruised

  5 black peppercorns, whole

  50g butter

  150ml white wine

  40g plain flour

  sea salt and pepper, to taste

Place milk in a pan with onion slices, bay leaf, mace, parsley and peppercorns.  Heat over a medium-low heat until simmering.  Remove from the heat and set aside to infuse for 10 minutes.

Strain.

Melt 30g of the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour over a medium-low heat for 1 minute.  Remove from the heat and stir in the milk until mixed well.  Return to the heat whisk until boiling.  Add the remaining butter and wine and simmer for 3-4 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Once sauce is ready, arrange the pasta squares on a work surface and place tablespoonfuls of the filling mixture on top, rolling the pasta sheets into cylinders.  Line the bottom of a baking dish with some of the besciamella sauce and arrange the cannelloni in a layer.  Top with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with extra pecorino.  Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden on top.  Serve and enjoy with a fresh garden salad.