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Start by cooking the meat for the filling. Put the 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a pan with the chopped onion and sauté until soft and translucent. Now add the mince and bay leaf and stir well with a wooden spoon making sure you remove all the lumps. Brown the meat well. Add the white wine (if you are using it – otherwise add some water, just enough to cook the meat) and raise the fire to burn off the alcohol. Cook for 10 minutes on medium fire and then keep it aside to cool down.
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Now prepare the tomato sauce. Place the 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a pot with the chopped onion and sauté until soft and translucent. Now add the tomato purée, salt, pepper and basil leaves. Cover it and cook it on a low flame for 20 minutes. Then keep it aside to cool down.
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To make the filling, mix the cooked mince with the ¾ cup (200 ml) of béchamel sauce and 1½ cups (85 gm/3 oz) of Parmigiano Reggiano, finely grated. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
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Put a large pot with salty water on the fire and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta sheets in it for 1 minute. Do this in batches (I use a shallow but large pot and I cook them in 1 layer, so I am sure they do not stick together). Remove them with a slotted spoon and put them on a clean tea towel to cool down.
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Now take one sheet of cooked pasta and put 1/8 of the filling along the long side of the rectangle. Roll it over to make a cannellone. Do so for the remaining rectangles of pasta.
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Take a big enough oven dish to fit all your cannelloni tightly. Spray it with some cooking oil (or melted butter) and pour some tomato sauce on the bottom. Spread it well, especially in the corners. Put the cannelloni in the oven dish on 1 layer.
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Cover the cannelloni with the remaining tomato sauce and 1¼ cup/300 ml béchamel sauce and sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup (35 gm/1 oz) of Parmigiano Reggiano.
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Bake them in a pre-heated moderate oven 350°F/180°C/gas mark 4 for 20 minutes, then broil (grill) them at 400°F/200°C for another 5 minutes.
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Serve immediately.