Cannelloni Italian Style

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Now that may seem a strange title to you, since cannelloni is by definition an Italian dish, but there is a delicious alternative to the well known pasta rolls – and that’s to use crêpes instead.

You prepare the ground beef in your favorite style, make a tomato and cheese sauce which you pour into the baking dish before adding the cannelloni, and then roll the meat mixture up in nice thin pancakes.

Grate some Parmesan or Pecorino cheese over the top and bake in a hot oven for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese melts and starts to go brown.

My meat mixture usually consists of something like ground beef or lamb, some crushed garlic, grated carrot, finely chopped shallot and some freshly ground black pepper and coriander seeds, bound together with a lightly beaten egg.

I make the sauce from some tomato purée heated with some mascarpone cheese and chopped parsley, which gives a nicely balanced flavor, especially when the grated cheese is added in.