Baked Salmon and Smoked Salmon Cannelloni with Cheddar Mornay

Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F) with the cooking rack arranged in the middle tier.

On a clean cutting board, dice the skinless salmon fillet into 5 mm cubes and finely chop the smoked salmon using a chef knife, ensuring all prep surfaces and knives are thoroughly sanitized afterward to avoid cross-contamination.

Zest the lemon using a microplane grater to collect 4g of zest, squeeze 15ml of lemon juice, and shred the sharp cheddar cheese with a box grater, reserving 50g in a small dish for topping.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the drained ricotta, diced salmon, chopped smoked salmon, beaten egg, minced tarragon, lemon zest, 15ml lemon juice, 3g salt, and 1g black pepper until uniformly distributed.

Melt the unsalted butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat at 100°C (212°F), whisk in the all-purpose flour, and cook the roux for 1 minute while stirring constantly.

Pour the whole milk and heavy cream into the saucepan in a gradual, thin stream, whisking steadily to create a smooth, lump-free suspension.

Simmer the sauce over medium-low heat at 85°C (185°F) for 4 minutes while whisking regularly until the liquid thickens into a velvety sauce that coats the back of a spoon.

Remove the saucepan completely from the heat source and stir in 100g of the grated sharp cheddar cheese, Dijon mustard, ground nutmeg, 3g salt, and 1g black pepper until the cheese melts into a silky sauce.

Spread 120ml of the warm cheddar mornay sauce evenly across the bottom of the 23x33 cm baking dish to form a lubricated base layer for the pasta.

Transfer the salmon ricotta filling into a piping bag and pipe the mixture firmly into both open ends of each dried cannelloni tube until densely packed from end to end.

Arrange the 12 filled cannelloni tubes side-by-side in a snug single layer across the sauce in the baking dish, pour all remaining cheddar mornay sauce over the pasta ensuring every surface is smothered, and sprinkle the remaining 50g of grated cheddar evenly on top.

Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil to trap steam and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 25 minutes.

Uncover the dish, switch the oven to high broil at 230°C (450°F), and grill the top for 4 minutes until the cheddar is blistered and golden, and a digital food thermometer inserted into the center of a middle tube reads at least 71°C (160°F) to ensure the egg-bound salmon filling is fully cooked.

Rest the baked cannelloni at room temperature for 5 minutes in the dish to allow the cheese sauce and filling to set slightly before plating with a wide spatula.