This recipe was made up by Becs after a moment of inspiration. Thin slices of aubergine are used instead of pasta to create the ‘cannelloni’, and the pate above is used as the filling. It does very well on the WeightWatchers points system.
- Four good-sized, firm aubergines
- Spinach and goats cheese pate (as per this recipe)
- Medium sized onion, finely chopped
- Tinned tomatoes (a big tin of the chopped stuff) (Napolini are the best!)
- A large glass of red wine
- Teaspoon of brown sugar
- A handful of fresh basil
- Dried basil too (teaspoon or so)
- Olive oil
- Parmesan cheese (optional)
Preheat the oven to 180C.
First, make up the tomato sauce. Fry the onion ’til soft, stir in the tomatoes, red wine, sugar and dried basil. Bubble down over a low heat until thickened. Toss in the shredded fresh basil at the end.
Peel the aubergine and slice longitudinally so you end up with long thin slices. Heat up a good flat bottomed frying pan and drop a bit of oil in. Cook each slice of aubergine (two at a time if the pan’s big enough) until soft and slightly browned. Set these aside as you do them and allow to cool a bit. Create the cannelloni by placing a dollop of the pate mix onto the end of a slice and roll the slice up. Place the roll in an oven dish (we use a lasagne one). Repeat until you’ve done all the slices. It takes a while but it’s worth it!
Then pour the tomato sauce over the slices. Top with grated cheese if you like (fresh Parmesan ideally) and chuck in the oven for 35 mins or thereabouts. Serve immediately with garlic bread and salad.