… with walnut pesto
This recipe was pubished in The Sunday Times back in 2016 and I have been making it ever since. This can easily be made vegan by omitting the cheese, it will still be yummy. I always serve this sprinkled with more parmesan on top as it comes out of the oven. Serve it with some roasted new potatoes and some green veg for a thoroughly delicious meal.
This meal can be made ahead of time and heated when needed.
Ingredients: this quantity is for 2, just multiply up as you need.
2 aubergines, ½cm-1cm thick
Olive oil
For the tomato sauce
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
300g tomato passata
1 tsp dried oregano
For the pesto
100g walnuts
50g fresh basil leaves
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
6 tsp grated parmesan
3tbsp olive oil
Heat the oven to 200C . Brush the aubergine slices on both sides with oil, place on a nonstick tray and bake in the oven until golden on both sides and soft enough to roll, but not so soft they fall apart.
For the sauce, heat a little oil in a pan, add the onion and garlic with a pinch of salt, and sauté until the onion softens. Add the passata and oregano and simmer for 12-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, place all the pesto ingredients in a food processor, season to taste and pulse until coarse.
Place a dollop of pesto in the centre of each aubergine slice, then roll up.
Put the sauce in the bottom of a baking dish, add the rolled cannelloni on top and bake in the oven. If eating straight after preparation, you will need to heat for approx 15/20 mins. If you made ahead of time then it will take longer to bake. You may need to cover with foil during baking.
A sprinkle of parmesan as it comes out of the oven finished it off beautifully.