Preparation time: 45 mins
Cooking time: 25-30 mins
Serves: 4
A delightful vegetarian take on Italian involtini, featuring tender aubergine slices rolled with a flavourful filling of Lancashire cheese, sweet raisins, and nutty pine nuts. Baked in a rich tomato passata and topped with buffalo mozzarella, this Anglicised involtini recipe offers a comforting and satisfying meal.
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 5/190C
Heat a generous quantity of olive oil in a frying pan, about enough to make a film about 5mm thick, and fry the aubergine slices a few at a time. As they’re done, remove them to some pieces of kitchen towel to soak up the excess oil. (This can be done in advance - it takes quite a long time and it’s best to have 2 pans on the go at once - actually, maybe you’ve made this before, I can’t remember???)
In a bowl mix together the lancashire cheese, pine nuts, raisins, extra virgin olive oil, breadcrumbs, garlic, parmesan and basil. Season to taste and bind with the egg.
Lay out the cooked slices of aubergine and divide the stuffing between them, then roll them up tightly to secure the filling and put them, as you go, into a lightly greased shallow dish into which they’ll fit snugly. (with all the oil, I actually don’t think you need to grease!)
Pour over the passata. Cut the mozzarella into about 5mm slices and arrange them down the centre in a line lengthways, like a snowman’s buttons. Drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.