Mushroom & Stilton Cannelloni

Still got some Stilton hanging around from Christmas? Why not give it a good send off with this gorgeously creamy cannelloni!

I adore the mushroom and blue cheese combo and constantly work out ways to eat together (you will probably have noticed this in my blog postings!), this dish is definately a keeper! The Stilton is very mellow in it, if you like stronger then simply add more! For me it was a perfect balance :)
Serves 4

Ingredients

550g brown mushrooms, cut into 1 cm chunks
200g half fat creme fraiche (I like Yeo Valley Organic)
500g carton plain passatta
80g apx finely crumbled Stilton
15 cannelloni shells
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 weeny bit of butter
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves removed
3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan
S&P

*You will need a hand blender or similar for this*

Heat the oil in a large saute/ lidded frying pan, gently fry the onion for 10 mins, without browning, add the garlic and cook for another 5 minutes until all softened and translucent, tip into a bowl

Place the pan back on the heat, add the mushrooms and butter, cook for 15-20 minutes or until the mushrooms are softened, add the thyme leaves - do not brown the mushrooms too much, strain off and reserve the juices, stir the onion mixture back in, 2/3 of the Stilton and allow to cool down, once cooled, gently blitz with a hand blender but not to a puree, stir in 2 heaped tbsp of the creme fraiche

In a jug mix together the passatta and all bar 2 tbsp of the remaining creme fraiche, season with s&p.

Now mix the remaining creme fraiche with 2 tsp of the reserved mushroom juices, the remaining Stilton and 1 tbsp of the tomato and creme fraiche mixture.



Pre-heat oven to 170 fan/ 190o

To assemble, pour the passatta and creme fraiche mixture into a dish that fits the shells in one layer, fill the shells with the mushroom mixture, roll over in the sauce to coat, repeat until all filled and lined up in the dish. Spoon over the Stilton mixture and sprinkle the Parmesan, bake for 30 minutes, if the shells during cooking are looking dry or are not fully immersed gently press down with a fork or spoon to allow the mixture to re-cover.

Serve and enjoy! Salad would be lovely but in the middle of this cold snap cabbage and hot bread rolls made a lovely accompaniment!

I didn't remember to get a picture of the finished dish but this is the last piece in my lunchbox!