Catalonia, Spain
Catalan cannelloni — tubes of fresh pasta filled with the leftover boiled meats from escudella i carn d'olla, bound with béchamel, covered in more béchamel, gratinéed. This is one of the most important dishes in the Catalan calendar — traditionally served on St. Stephen's Day (26 December), the day after Christmas, using the previous day's escudella meats. The Italian pasta came to Catalonia through the Italian immigration of the 19th century, but the filling is entirely Catalan: braised and boiled meats minced and enriched with the residual cooking fats. Catalan canelons are denser, meatier, and more richly sauced than their Italian counterparts.
Use the escudella meats where possible — or slow-braise chicken, pork, and veal together. Mince the meats finely but not to a paste — some texture remains. Bind with a thick béchamel (bechamel gruixuda) and season well. Roll in fresh pasta sheets — the pasta should be thin enough to become tender in the baking. Coat heavily with béchamel on top. Grate manchego or a mixture of manchego and parmesan over the top.
Make the filling a day ahead — it firms up and becomes easier to roll. The béchamel coating should be generous — this is not diet food. Some Catalan families add a little foie gras to the filling. Serve as a first course in small portions — these are rich. Pairs with white Penedès or light red Somontano.
Under-seasoning the filling — the meat and béchamel need confident seasoning. Using dried cannelloni tubes — fresh pasta sheets give a fundamentally better result. A thin béchamel topping that dries out in the oven. Baking too hot — the outside hardens before the inside is hot.
The Food of Spain by Claudia Roden