I miss Sir G’s. While I usually got the conchiglie, the rest of my family loved the cannelloni. Even my cousin, who lives in the cities, used to bring his wife up to Ely for their anniversary tradition of a cannelloni dinner. I was unsuccessful in tracking down the authentic recipe, but I made a solid attempt at a copycat version, or at least from the point of view of a German-Finn.
I tried making this more like the old way, how I tasted it as a child. In recent years, many of the recipes changed, and the cannelloni began featuring a slice of prosciutto wrapped inside each roll. While I liked that idea, I never tasted it that way, so I went with what I remembered. You can add the prosciutto if you wish. You can also use your own red sauce recipe if you have a favorite.
The part I most closely nailed was the “alla panna” sauce, which translates from Italian to “with cream.” I always wondered how they could get it so light and airy. I have made plenty of white sauces before, yet none featured that glorious foam. A simple whirl in the blender yielded a result that was just as frothy as I remembered from the beloved local restaurant.
