Roasted Cannelloni with aubergine & Ikramito

Originally I wanted to do ravioli ... but I ended up trying something different. Yes they look like pancakes, but they are roasted cannelloni. First time I tried in this way and I have to say they are really really nice. Crunchy and very warm. Lighter and much more suited to such a delicate filling. The ikramino's are also an essential part of the dish as they gives the moisture which a normal sauce would give but avoiding to be too saucy. Lovely!!! And definitively a full italian taste!!!

Serves: 4 as main course or 10 as a starter
FlexiPoints: 11 or 4.5

Suggested wine: we had the Serpico 1999 (see previous post) with it. I feel this dish is kind of universal in terms of wine pairing ... even if I would avoid whites with too much acidity and really fruity reds.
Special equipment: none

Ingredients:
10 fresh lasagna sheets (400g)
2 aubergines
5 garlic cloves
250g Buffalo mozzarella
500g Ikramito tomatoes
180g ricotta cheese
10 basil leaves
1/2 glass of white wine
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredient note: The Ikramito (photo link) is normally sold in clusters of 12/14 and looks like a slightly bigger cherry tomatoes. The taste is quite sharp with a thicker skin. It is normally used for salads ... but I love it cooked (as wholes) as well like here!

How-to:
1. Grease an oven pot with some oil. Put the aubergines and 3 garlic cloves in it, and bake at 180C for 40’ or until the aubergines are really soft.
2. Discard the garlic. Peel the aubergine and make a mash out of them. Season with salt and let cool down.
3. Chop the mozzarella in small cubes. Finely chop the remaining garlic. Make an homogeneous mix out of the ricotta, the aubergine mash, the mozzarella and the garlic. Season with salt and set aside.
4. Cook the lasagna sheets for 90 seconds in boiling salted water. Rise the sheets in cold water and let them cool down.
5. Distribute the cheese mix among the lasagna sheets by placing (about) 1.5 tbsp on the centre of each sheet. Roll up the lasagna sheet so as to form the cannelloni.
6. Take a very large pot. Grease it with oil. Once hot, add the cannelloni, the tomatoes and the basil leaves. Season with little salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 10’ or until the tomatoes are quite soft and the cannelloni brownish on both side.
7. Press the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook on high heat for one minutes. Remove the cannelloni. Add the wine to the pan, cook for few seconds on high heat stirring continuously and remove from the heat.
8. Serve the cannelloni with the tomatoes on the sides.