I brought the amazing What Katie Ate book nearly a year ago now and have been busting to do veggie remakes of so many of her beautiful recipes. Although not vegetarian I find her food and photography incredibly inspiring. This delicious vegetarian mushroom cannelloni is one of the many recipes I’ve wanted to create for Veggie num num from a recipe for chicken & mushroom cannelloni found in her cook book.

The recipe does take a little extra effort but, for a warming and hearty meal to serve up for a special occasion, I promise this vegetarian mushroom cannelloni will not disappoint. Try and source a variety of mushrooms as this will add to the depth of flavour and texture and a good quality dried mushroom mix will really bump up the earthiness of the overall dish.

I made a cauliflower béchamel as I’d seen a few recipes floating around on pinterest and though it was a wonderful idea. I am really happy with the way this sauce came together and how well it complements the flavour of the mushrooms.

If you were looking for that really gooey cheesy sauce I’d add some non-dairy or dairy cheese. I did add a little vegetarian parmesan style cheese to the top to get a lovely golden brown colour – you could try a non-dairy cheese if you are vegan.

Mushroom Cannelloni w/ Cauliflower Béchamel

Preparation time: 1hr 10mins // Serves 6

Cauliflower Béchamel

• 1 large head of cauliflower, thinly sliced
• 2 tbs sunflower or rice bran oil
• good pinch of paprika
• good pinch of nutmeg
• ¾ cup non-dairy milk of your choice
• ½ lemon, juice
• ½-1 cup non-dairy or dairy cheese (optional)

Mushroom Cannelloni

• 25g mixed dried mushrooms
• 2 tbs sunflower or rice bran oil
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 2 leeks (white part only), finely diced
• 200g (7oz) button mushrooms
• 200g (7oz) swiss brown mushrooms
• 100g (3½oz) shiitake mushrooms
• 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
• 1-2 tsp chilli flakes (optional)
• 200g (7oz) baby spinach leaves, washed
• 2 cups raw walnuts, diced
• 18 cannelloni tubes

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/356°F.

Cover the dried mushrooms in warm water and set aside for 5 minutes.

To make the cauliflower béchamel heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the cauliflower and sprinkle with paprika. Cook for a few minutes, tossing to coat in the oil and get a little flavour happening.

Turn up the heat and pour over enough boiling water to completely cover the cauliflower. Bring to a simmer and cook covered on a low heat for 25 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little.

Transfer the cauliflower and liquid to a food processor or using a stick blender puree until smooth. Return to a low heat and add the milk, nutmeg and fresh cracked pepper and salt flakes to taste. Allow to bubble gently for a few minutes before adding the lemon juice. Remove from the heat and set aside. If you want a nice gooey cheesy sauce add around ½-1½ cups of vegetarian or non-dairy cheese at this stage and stir through. The sauce should be fairly runny as you want a nice amount of liquid to cook the cannelloni – so don’t worry it will thicken as it cooks in the oven.

While the cauliflower is cooking you can prepare the mushrooms.

Dice all the mushrooms roughly to get a coarse mince, make sure not to chop them too fine or they will disappear once cooked. I used a food processor to chop the mushrooms as I wanted to get a nice mince like consistency and it saved some time. You can do the same or simply dice the mushroom using a knife.

Strain the dried mushrooms reserving the liquid, dice them and add them to the other mushrooms.

Heat the oil over a medium heat and add the leeks, cooking for a minute or two until soft. Add around half the diced mushroom mixture and continue to cook over a medium heat for a few minutes before adding the remainder of the mushrooms. Again cook for a few minutes and then add the garlic and chilli flakes (if using). Cook for a few more minutes.

Add the walnuts to the mushrooms and stir through. Pile the baby spinach leaves on top and pour over the reserved liquid from the dried mushrooms. Cover with a lid and turn down the heat, allowing the spinach to wilt.

Remove from the heat and stir the wilted spinach through. Set aside until the mixture is cool enough to handle. You can transfer it to a large bowl to speed up the process.

Spoon half the cauliflower béchamel into a large baking dish (approx. 20x30cm).

Fill a piping bag (or a sturdy plastic bag like a zip-lock bag with a small hole cut in the corner) with the cooled mushroom mixture.

Fill each cannelloni tube with the mushroom mixture and arrange in the baking tray side by side to form one layer. Top with the remaining cauliflower béchamel and sprinkle over a little vegetarian or non-dairy cheese.

Place in the pre-heated oven 40 minutes until top is golden, sauce is bubbling and pasta is tender. Remove from the oven and let it stand for few minutes before sprinkling with a little extra vegetarian cheese and a few springs of fresh thyme.

Serve accompanied with steamed greens or a crisp salad for a lovely warming and filling meal full of earthy flavour and goodness. Enjoy!