Rustic Eggplant Involtini

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C and line two baking trays with parchment. Brush each eggplant with olive oil on both sides and place them on the trays. Place in the oven for 7 minutes before turning each eggplant slice over and cooking for another 7 minutes. The eggplant should be pliable to roll but not overcooked.

While the eggplant is cooking combine your ricotta with the lemon zest and set aside .

Once the eggplant is cooked, remove them from the oven and allow to cook slightly. Leave the oven on at 180 degrees C.

Set up an assembly line on your kitchen counter starting with the tomato sauce, followed by the eggplant, zucchini ribbons and finally the cashew ricotta. Place an oven-proof baking dish or skillet near you. This recipe makes 9-10 rolls so make sure your dish is big enough.

To assemble your eggplant involtini, spoon enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom of your pan. On a board or plate, lay a slice of eggplant down followed by overlapping ribbons of the zucchini (I use enough zucchini to match the width of the eggplant). Spoon around a tablespoon of the cashew cheese on to the zucchini on the end closest to you before rolling the stack gently away from you. Place the roll down on to the tomato sauce with the seem down to keep the roll in place. Repeat with remaining eggplant slices.

Spoon any remaining tomato sauce over the rolls before sprinkling over the breadcrumbs and parmesan or nutritional yeast. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top and pop in the oven for around 20-25 minutes or until the eggplant rolls are soft and the breadcrumbs golden.

Remove from the oven and serve hot with a smattering of fresh basil.