Sicilian eggplant rolls

If you are making this a day ahead, assemble the rolls in the sauce without baking, then the next day put the cheese on top and bake as instructed. 

For the sugo, heat the olive oil in a large frypan over medium heat, add the shallot and garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant (watch it closely as the garlic can burn very quickly). Add the tomatoes and season with salt, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes or until slightly reduced. If it looks too dry you can add a little water.

Heat a large chargrill pan over high heat. Brush the eggplant slices with the olive oil, then grill for about 3-4 minutes on both sides until they are soft and have nice, dark char lines.

Preheat your oven to 200°C. While the oven is heating, make the ricotta filling. Heat the olive oil in a frypan over high heat, add the garlic, then drop in the chopped silverbeet stalks. Cover and cook for 2 minutes or until softened. Add the silverbeet leaves, replace the lid and leave for 1-2 minutes until wilted.

Drain off the excess liquid and discard the garlic clove. Mix the cooked silverbeet with the remaining ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

To assemble, smear a ladleful of the sugo over the base of a baking dish. Put 1 tbs of the ricotta filling in the middle of each eggplant slice and roll up to enclose. 

Arrange the rolls, seam-side down, in a single layer in the dish. Drizzle the remaining sugo over the top. Scatter over the mozzarella and pecorino and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and bubbling. 

Remove and rest at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving. In the meantime, if you’d like to use pine nuts to top the dish, heat a small non-stick frypan over medium heat and toast the pine nuts for 45-60 seconds until fragrant and lightly golden. Sprinkle over the eggplant. To serve, grind over some black pepper and top with plenty of basil.

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