Roasted Eggplant Cannelloni
Servings: 2
Cannelloni is Italian comfort food at its finest. If you need an impressive vegetarian meal, this roasted eggplant cannelloni definitely fit the bill.
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Ingredients
- 6 Cannelloni pasta
- 150 ml bechamel sauce
- 400 g Italian tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoon Italian-style hard cheese grated ( or Parmigiano Reggiano)
- a bunch of fresh basil leaves to decorate
For the roasted eggplant sauce:
- 3 medium-large long eggplants / aubergines
- extra virgin olive oil
- sea salt and black pepper
- 1 garlic clove optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/360F/160 fan.
- Cube the eggplant, or cut the veggie horizontally in two and lightly score each half. Arrange your eggplants over a non-stick baking tray, add garlic, season with a generous glug of olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.
- Bake in the oven for 20 min or until soft and cooked through. Then simply pop them in a powerful food processor and blend until creamy.
- Fold the cannelloni in a large pot of lightly salted boiling water. Cook for about 1-2 min, they should be still very hard. Drain and pat dry on a kitchen cloth.
- Fill a piping bag with the roasted eggplant sauce.
- Hold each cannelloni up on your palm to avoid the filling to escape and fill with the prepared mixture.
- Brush the base of a baking dish with a little extra virgin olive oil and tomato sauce.
- Arrange the filled cannelloni on top and pour the remaining tomato sauce over them.
- Top with bechamel or my quick ricotta sauce and some grated parmesan cheese.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 min, until the pasta is cooked through and the edges are slightly crispy. Scatter basil leaves over the top and serve immediately.