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For the Tomato Sauce: In a 3-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
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Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft and light golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.
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Add the thyme and carrot and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft.
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Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often.
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Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal.
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Season with salt and serve.
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This sauce holds 1 week in the refrigerator or up to 6 months in the freezer.
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Yield: 4 cups For Pasta Dough: Mound 3 1/2 cups of the flour in the center of a large wooden cutting board.
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Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the eggs and the olive oil.
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Using a fork, beat together the eggs and oil and begin to incorporate the flour, starting with the inner rim of the well.
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As you expand the well, keep pushing the flour up from the base of the mound to retain the well shape.
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The dough will come together when half of the flour is incorporated.
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Start kneading the dough with both hands, using the palms of your hands.
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Once you have a cohesive mass, remove the dough from the board and scrape up and discard any leftover bits.
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Lightly reflour the board and continue kneading for 6 more minutes.
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The dough should be elastic and a little sticky.
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Wrap the dough in plastic and allow to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
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Roll or shape as desired.
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For Bechamel: In a medium saucepan, heat butter until melted.
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Add flour and stir until smooth.
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Over medium heat, cook until light golden brown, about 6 to 7 minutes.
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Meanwhile, heat milk in separate pan until just about to boil.
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Add milk to butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth and bring to a boil.
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Cook 10 minutes and remove from heat.
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Season with salt and nutmeg and set aside.
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Putting It All Together!
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: In a large skillet, heat the butter over high heat until it foams and subsides.
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Add the ground pork and veal and cook over high heat until it begins to brown in its own fat.
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Drain the excess fat and add the Parmigiano, the flour and the milk and reduce heat to a simmer.
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Cook for 10 minutes, stirring regularly, then remove from heat and allow to cool.
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Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir in the egg.
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Set aside.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
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Roll the pasta out to the thinnest setting on a pasta rolling machine and cut it into rectangles measuring 4 inches by 6 inches.
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Divide the meat filling evenly among the rectangles and roll the pasta around the filling, jelly-roll style making 14 to 16 canneloni.
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Blanch until tender in boiling water.
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Remove and put in an ice water bath.
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In an 8 or 9-inch square, oven-proof casserole, spoon half the tomato sauce across the bottom in an even layer.
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Carefully lay each pasta package in the casserole so that they are in a single layer.
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Top with the remaining tomato sauce, then the bechamel.
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Finish with the freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and bake in the oven 20 to 25 minutes, until the sauces and cheese are bubbling and the edges of the pasta are crispy and browned.
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Serve immediately from the cooking dish.
