Incredible Cannelloni

The TV gods added the Cooking Channel to my lineup and I was so excited I went nuts DVRing all sorts of shows. This recipe comes from Jamie Oliver, who I first fell in love with when he was doing his Naked Chef gig. I know the ingredient list might turn a few people off (normally myself included) but these are seriously incredible. Brett declared this may be one of the best pasta dishes he's ever eaten. I changed a few things from the original and was super happy with the results. This amount served our family of 4 perfectly.

*1/2 lb. broccoli

*1/2 lb. cauliflower

*Extra-virgin olive oil

*4 cloves garlic, sliced

*1/2 bunch thyme leaves

*1/2 oz. anchovies (stay with me here, and if you're scared of the fish, go with anchovy paste or skip)

*2 small dry red chilies, crumbled

*1/4 c. part-skim ricotta

*1/2 c. mozzarella, divided

*1c. tomato sauce

*1/2 tsp. pepper

*1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

*splash of red wine vinegar

*2 TBSP. butter

*2 TBSP. flour

*1 c. milk (or 3/4 c. milk +1/4 c. cream)

*1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, divided

*10 cannelloni shells

*basil

Cut up broccoli and cauliflower. Boil in salted water for 5 minutes. Reserve 1 c. water and drain. Heat saucepan and add olive oil and garlic, fry for a minute, then add thyme, anchovies, and chilies. Stir well and add broccoli and cauliflower and a few TBSP. reserved water. Stir well, cover loosely (leave a gap near the lid) and cook for about 20 minutes. Remove lid and cook another 5 minutes. Use a potato masher (or an immersion blender) to smash it up to a smooth-ish consistency. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Stir in ricotta and 1/8 c. mozzarella cheese. Spread out on a baking sheet to cool a bit. Meanwhile, lightly grease a baking pan. Combine tomato sauce, pepper, red pepper flakes and red wine vinegar and spread over bottom of pan. Fill zip top bag with cauliflower mix and snip off corner. Use bag to pipe filling into the cannelloni shells. There will be plenty of filling, so don't be stingy. Place filled shells on top of the tomato sauce close together. Put basil leaves on top of shells, maybe a leaf or so per shell.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour and whisk until smooth and thickened. Pour in milk and increase heat to medium-high, whisk for about 5 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and add 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, whisk to combine. Pour over top of cannelloni. Sprinkle remaining Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and bake 30-40 minutes until golden and bubbling.