Cannelloni with ground meat and béchamel sauce

For tomato sauce

1 onion
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1 tablespoon thyme
2 tablespoons basil leaves, finely chopped
pinch of sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon tomato paste
50 g white wine
800 g canned chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon oregano
salt
pepper
For ground meat

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 kilo ground beef
salt
pepper
For béchamel sauce

100 g butter
100 g all-purpose flour
750 g milk
salt
pepper
3 egg yolks, from medium eggs
pinch of ground nutmeg
50 g parmesan cheese, grated
To assemble

250 g cannelloni
50 g parmesan cheese, grated
To serve

basil leaves
Method
For the tomato sauce

Place a pot over high heat and add the olive oil.
Coarsely chop the onions and add them to the pot.
Finely chop the garlic and add to the pot.
Add the thyme and the 1 tablespoon of basil leaves. Mix with a wooden spoon.
Add the sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon. Sauté for 2-3 minutes to caramelize.
Add the tomato paste. Mix with a wooden spoon and scrape the bottom of the pan to sauté the tomato paste, until golden. This will help it lose its bitterness.
Add the wine and allow it to evaporate.
Add the canned tomatoes and oregano. Mix.
As soon as the mixture comes to a boil, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of basil leaves, salt and pepper.
Mix, remove from heat and set aside.
For the ground meat

Place a pot over high heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Add the ground meat and sauté for 3-4 minutes, until golden.
Add half of the tomato sauce to a baking pan and the remaining half to the pan with the ground meat.
Season with salt and pepper.
As soon as the liquid in the pan has evaporated, remove from heat and set aside.
For the béchamel sauce

Place a pot over medium heat.
Add the butter and whisk until it melts.
Add the flour and whisk until incorporated.
Add the milk in small batches, while continuously whisking so that no lumps form.
Season with salt and pepper. As soon as you see the first bubble appear in the mixture and the béchamel sauce thickens, remove from heat.
Add the egg yolks, nutmeg and 50 g parmesan. Whisk until incorporated.
To assemble

Preheat oven to 180* C (350* F) Fan.
Place one cannelloni at a time in the pot and fill with mixture by using your hands.
Transfer each filled cannelloni to the baking pan, placing them one next to the other over the tomato sauce.
Pour the béchamel sauce over them and spread it evenly with a spoon, making sure the whole surface of the cannelloni is completely covered.
Sprinkle with 50 g of parmesan and cover baking pan with parchment paper first and then with aluminum foil.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Uncover and bake again for 15 minutes, until golden.
When ready, remove from oven and allow to cool.
Serve with basil leaves.

Recipe Ali’s petreztikis
Photo and make up by me