Seafood Cannelloni in Lobster Sauce

This is one of those recipes that you only see in restaurants in the IX District of Paris, which is the most elegant place in the French capital, with its Palais Garnier and the Galeries Lafayette, and where it is possible to see on the restaurant terraces people tasting piles of seafood at 12 at night. That is to say, it looks perfect on a Christmas table.

INGREDIENTS (4 people)

Seafood Stuffing:

• 250 g (9 oz)  cooked and shredded lobster.*
• 200 g (7 oz) of peeled and chopped prawns or prawns.
• 200 g (7 oz) crab meat **
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced, without the central green germ.
• 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, chopped.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.

* They sell frozen lobster tails, from the Caribbean or Southeast Asia, which are not of very high quality but for these cannelloni they are perfect and are not very expensive. Of course, if you want to buy higher quality lobsters, there is no problem, it depends on your budget.

** I'm not referring to surimi sticks, but to real crab meat. It is usually found in cans and comes from crabs caught in Alaska, where they reach a scary size. It can be found in gourmet stores, but hey, if you can't find surimi sticks you can make do.

Lobster Sauce:

• 2 butter spoons.
• 2 tablespoons of flour.
• 1 cup of lobster broth (made with the claws, legs).
• 1 cup of milk.
• 1/2  cup of dry white wine.
• 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Nutmeg to taste.

Other Ingredients:

• 12 sheets of cannelloni, pre-cooked according to package instructions.
• Grated cheese (optional, to gratin).

First we are going to make the seafood filling.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant.

Add the shrimp or prawns and cook until they are pink.

We add the lobster and crab meat. Cook for a few minutes until the seafood is well mixed.

Add the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. We remove from the heat and reserve. What we have reported up to this point should be done in less than 5 minutes, seafood does not require more time.

Now we are going to make the Lobster Sauce.

If the lobster had a shell, head, etc., we blended it with a hand blender along with the milk and soft wine. If you didn't have it but we can use the shell of the prawns or shrimp, use them. And in the worst case, use conventional fish broth.

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and mix to form a roux.

Gradually pour in the lobster broth, milk and white wine, stirring constantly with the whisk to avoid lumps.

We cook the mixture until it thickens. At that moment we add the parmesan cheese and mix until it melts.

Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. We withdraw and reserve. This takes about 10 minutes.

Now we are going to fill the cannelloni.

The first thing is to preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F).

Spread a thin layer of lobster sauce on the bottom of a baking dish.

We fill each sheet of cannelloni with the seafood mixture and place them in the dish. If you are too lazy about this process of cooking, filling and closing the cannelloni, you can resort to manicotti, which is, what I usually call, quick cannelloni.

Manicotti

Pour the remaining lobster sauce over the cannelloni.

Optionally, sprinkle grated cheese on top.

Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. If you want a crispy layer on top, turning the grill on for 5 minutes will be more than enough.

They are served pipping hot and are delicious.