I have been making this recipe for nearly thirty years now and I can’t even remember where I got it from or who gave it to me. However I do have nice memories connected with this recipe, as when I was single I used to go out with my friends at a cafeteria in Limassol called President. I remember that this cafeteria used to serve some food, amongst which Cannelloni (plural in Greek Cannellonia) which was one of my favourites. However, it is in this cafeteria that I met my husband 29 years ago.

During October when I went to Cyprus as we were driving with my sister along the streets of Limassol, I realized that we were passing outside this cafeteria but until I managed to get my camera out of my bag, I only managed to take this photo and it is the black building you can see on the right.

Limassol has changed a lot since I left and streets which were so familiar to me then they look so different now. Villages which were two or three miles away from the town are now suburbs and imagine that at the time there was only one seven storey building and that was the only one in town. Now there are thousands of them and much higher of course. Needless to say, that this cafeteria as well as many other do not exist any more. I can remember, during spring time, the fields near the seaside of ancient Amathus, which were full of white and yellow daisies in one field or red poppies in another. The landscape was so beautiful that we used to drive there and stop to watch the sunset or other times the full moon. Now the only things you can see are luxurious hotels, tavernas and tourist shops.

So, back to reality again, when I first tried cannellonia, as I said, it became one of my favourites. The original recipe however was with a tomato sauce on the top. That recipe I don’t make very often but as I have become a bit nostalgic by writing this post, I think I will make this recipe soon, to the detriment of my son who is not very fond of recipes containing tomatoes or tomato sauces and which is why I have stopped making it.

Cannellonia with ground meat sauce, the Cypriot way, made with crepes

Preparation time: 1 hour

Baking time: 45 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 dose of crepes batter which will make 9 big ones

100 ml light fresh cream

For the filling

600 grams of mixed ground meat (beef and pork or any of the two)

½ cup of extra virgin olive oil

1 cup of finely chopped parsley

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1/3 cup of white dry wine

500 grams of whole canned tomatoes, blended

½ teaspoon sugar,

½ teaspoon of dried basil

Salt,

Pepper

For the béchamel sauce
See the Bechamel recipe here.

1 cup of halloumi cheese, grated

A pinch of white pepper

Directions

For the filling:

Heat oil in a sauce pan and sauté the ground meat then add the onion and sauté as well. Add the wine and mix. Blend the tomatoes and garlic in the multi mulinette and add all the remaining ingredients for the filling. Let it simmer until it remains with a thick sauce.

Simultaneously whilst the ground meat is simmering you can proceed and prepare the crepes.

For the crepes:

See the recipe for the crepes and although I have made mine in the big frying pan it is better to use a smaller one.

Prepare the béchamel sauce (see the recipe here) and add halloumi cheese and a pinch of white pepper.

Add 4 spoonfuls of béchamel sauce to the filling and mix well.

Place a spoonful or more (depending on the size of your crepe) ofthe filling at the edge and roll it to form the crepe into a cannelloni. Place next to each other carefully in a baking tin.

For baking:

Add some cream in the béchamel sauce to make its consistency more creamy and spread over the crepes.

Place baking tin in a preheated oven at 180 degrees centigrade and bake until golden brown.

Serve warm but they are still delicious when cold.

Tags: Ground meat, Pasta