The minute the temperature drops into Autumn my eating habits and food choices change. Swapping an outdoor BBQ for the kitchen oven; exchanging light bites for creamy sauces.

Staples that creep into my autumn repertoire are pumpkins, mushrooms and pears, oh my!

Mushrooms

Mushrooms will suddenly appear on sourdough toast with blue cheese for Sunday snacks, mushroom risotto will feature prominently throughout the cooler months and the humble button mushroom will sprout through stovetop stews and casseroles.

One mushroom dish that I enjoy making and is a great midweek supper (as well as a luxurious Sunday lunch with added extras) is a simple yet very tasty mushroom and leek cannelloni. I add spinach in mine (as Jamie Oliver suggests) but with decent woodland mushrooms found in any supermarket and a bechamel that bites back the flavours scream UMAMI with every bite.

To make a one layer sheet pan of cannelloni, I use:

2 leeks, 2 punnets of mushrooms and approx 20 cannelloni tubes.

Depending on how many mouths you need to feed and the size of your oven dish, will alter your quantities. My recommendation if you’re unsure is to make more of the leek & mushroom filling as you can always spread this on top of the cannelloni before your pour the bechamel over. Just as delicious and will save you from making more cannelloni tubes than you need (including leftovers for the following day!)

Click on the link for the video

https://youtu.be/qguVqlfZ_ds?feature=shared

Method

1. Wash the leeks and brush off any dirt off the mushrooms.

2. Chop the leeks and mushrooms into rough dice and sweat in butter over a gentle heat. Add chopped garlic. Season and allow to cool.

3. Make the bechamel sauce:

Add 500ml of milk to a saucepan and add 2 bay leaves and a rasp of nutmeg. Bring to a gentle heat.

4. Melt 50g of unsalted butter over a medium heat. When melted add 50g of plain flour. Mix together to create a paste called a roux and cook for a further 2mins.

5. Remove the bay leaves from the milk and discard.

6. Gradually add the infused, warmed milk to the roux, stirring as you go, until you get a smooth sauce (whisk out any lumps.) Continue to cook over a medium heat for 5-10mins until the sauce thickens. Season to taste.

Now that the component parts are made, you can begin to assemble the dish:

7. Stuff the cooled leek and mushroom mixture into the cannelloni tubes and place them into your oven dish. Add a layer of baby spinach on the bottom should you wish.

8. Once you have your layer of cannelloni in place, spread any remaining mixture over. Pour your bechamel sauce over giving the dish a shake to make sure it runs between the cannelloni tubes.

9. Grate a cheese of choice over the bechamel layer – a mature cheddar works very well but use any cheese or selection of cheeses that you like.

10. Bake in a 190°C/374°F oven for 30mins. Once the bechamel is golden and bubbling take out of the oven and serve!

ENJOY!