Chicken, goat’s cheese and wild garlic cannelloni

Method

1. For the tomato sauce, put the olive oil and garlic in a large pan over a medium heat. When it sizzles, add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes until reduced and thickened. Discard the bay leaves, taste, season and spoon into a 3 litre, shallow ovenproof dish.
2. For the béchamel sauce, stud the onion with the cloves and put into a pan with the milk, bay leaves and peppercorns. Bring just to the boil, then set aside for at least 20 minutes.
3. For the filling, bunch up the wild garlic leaves and cut into thin strips. Do the same with the spinach. Heat a small knob of the butter in a large pan, add as many leaves as you can and let them wilt down before adding the rest. Cover and cook gently for 2-3 minutes until tender. Tip into a colander and press out as much of the liquid as you can. Melt the rest of the butter in the pan, add the garlic and, as soon as it sizzles, return the leaves to the pan and stir to mix. Transfer to a bowl to cool.
4. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Meanwhile, continue with the béchamel sauce. Bring the milk back to the boil, then strain into a jug and discard the solids. Melt the butter in a medium pan, add the flour and cook gently for 2-3 minutes without letting it colour. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the milk. Bring back to the boil, stirring constantly, then leave to simmer over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5-10 minutes.
5. Drop the pasta sheets one at a time into the boiling water, add the oil, then cook for 8-12 minutes until al dente. Drain, run briefly under cold water, then separate the sheets. Lay side by side on a sheet of cling film to prevent sticking (see tip).
6. Stir the cream into the béchamel sauce, then stir 200ml of the sauce into the garlic and spinach mixture with the chicken, soft goat’s cheese, 50g of the hard goat’s cheese and some salt and pepper to taste.
7. Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas 5. Spoon the filling along one short edge of each pasta sheet. Roll up and put side by side, seam-side down on top of the tomato sauce. Pour over the rest of the béchamel and sprinkle with the remaining goat’s cheese. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and bubbling.