Greek-style cannelloni with aubergines, Anthotyro cheese and tomato filling

Pasta in any kind of shape or recipe and regardless the season is always more than welcomed in most households! Ours is not an exception and pasta is in our menu at least once a week! Cannelloni is one of our favourites because you can fill them with so many different ingredients so you never get bored of them. Today a simple but very seasonal filling with aubergines and cheese make this pasta dish a delicious meal for the whole family

Adapted from a recipe cooked by Vicky Smyrli

from a recipe leaflet of the Greek supermarket "AB Vassilopoulos"

Ingredients (for 4 people)

For the cannelloni:

250 gr. of cannelloni (16 pieces)

2 cups of cooked tomato sauce of your choice (preferably homemade)

about 1 cup of water

1 cup of various yellow cheeses for the topping, grated

For the filling:

3-4 aubergines, cut in small cubes (preferably the Japanese variety or the Greek "Tsakonikes")

3-4 ripe but firm tomatoes, cut in small cubes (peeled and not seeds)

300 gr. of Anthotyro cheese, crumbled

6 tbsp of olive oil

2 tbsp of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

salt

pepper

Method:

Put the aubergines in a bowl filled with cold water and soak for 30 minutes. Drain in a colander, squeeze with your hands to discard as much water as possible and then pat dry with kitchen paper.

Warm half the olive oil in a spacious non-stick frying pan in medium heat and sauté the aubergines, stirring with a wooden spatula until they get nicely golden on all sides. Transfer with a slotted spoon on kitchen paper to drain the excess oil and then into a bowl.

Add the rest of the oil in the pan and sauté the tomato cubes. Then transfer to the bowl with the aubergines. Add the crumbled cheese, the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Gently toss the ingredients with two spoons.

Preheat the oven to 160°C.

Get a pyrex dish, big enough to get all the cannelloni in one layer, and sprinkle at the bottom with some of the grated cheese.

Dip one by one the cannelloni in hot water and quickly take them out using a slotted spoon before they get soft and stick. 

Holding the cannelloni with one hand open fill it with the other hand gently pushing some of the filling inside. Arrange in the pyrex dish and continue in the same way with the rest of the cannelloni.

Pour half of the tomato sauce in the pyrex dish and add water enough as to cover the cannelloni by 3/4. Pour the rest of the tomato sauce on top of the cannelloni and sprinkle with the rest of the grated cheeses.

Put in the oven and cook for about 30-35 minutes or until the sauce is boiling and the cheeses melt. *** If the cannelloni get coloured too soon then cover them loosely with some baking paper.

Take out of the oven and serve immediately sprinkling with some extra cheese on top.