This one's for Miriam!

I had a long-distance phone call with my beloved friend Miriam tonight.  Over the years Miriam and I have lived together in three different houses, including in our first place out of home when we were poor uni students.  The flat in question was a crumbling villa on a slightly dodgy street, but we loved it.  Back then our flat of four people survived on a weekly grocery budget of $80 (in total, not each), which just blows my mind now when I think about it.  We even had to spend $5 of the money on a taxi home as none of us had a car to bring the groceries back in! 

Anyway, Miriam has always been a fantastic supporter of my food obsession, and cooking for her is a joy.  We even used to have a deal where if I cooked dinner she would clean the shower (my most hated cleaning task), ha, it made cooking for her an even more attractive proposition.  Unfortunately now that we are living in different countries we can't make the most of this mutually beneficial arrangement, but at least I can send her a recipe via this website.  Miriam, it was what I was making as we were talking on the phone, and it's gluten free!  I made it up from random ingredients in my fridge, so I didn't measure anything.  If I make it again soon I'll repost the recipe with more exact ingredients and perhaps some variations.

JULY 2011 UPDATE: Miriam came to visit me this month, so I finally got to make this for her, yay!  And I have now updated the recipe with more precise quantities.  And we have decided to call it MIMELLONI.

Pasta-less Pumpkin and Goats Cheese "Cannelloni" AKA Mimelloni

Serves 2 - the perfect amount for Sarah and Miriam!  A variation is to roast instead of boiling the pumpkin (cut it into small 1cm squares and roast them until golden brown).  I have also made a version with spinach instead of pumpkin - just add a bunch of chopped spinach to the pan once the red onion is cooked, wilt it down, and squeeze the excess moisture out.  

"Cannelloni"
1 large eggplant
1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil (I use olive oil spray instead)
1 cup of pumpkin chopped for boiling (or roasting as noted above)
Salt and pepper
60g of goats cheese (or you could use ricotta or feta)
1/2 red onion
1/2 cup of grated pecorino or parmesan cheese

Sauce
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cloves garlic of, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano (you could use fresh, and add with the tomatoes)
1 pinch chilli flakes (optional)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons fresh parsely, chopped (optional)

1/2 teaspoon of caster sugar
Salt and pepper

1. Cut the eggplant lengthwise into 1/2 cm slices, spray or brush with olive oil and grill each side until they start to brown.  You want the slices to be soft enough so you can roll them up, but not overcooked as they will fall apart.  Once you are done with the grill, set the eggplant aside and heat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Cook the pumpkin in some salted boiling water until tender.  Season and mash.

3. Finely chop the red onion and sautee in a little oil until soft and add to the pumpkin.

3. Add the olive oil, garlic, oregano and chilli flakes to a saucepan.  Heat gently until the garlic becomes aromatic then carefully add the tomatoes (they can spit when they hit the oil) and the sugar as well as the parsley if using.  Simmer for two minutes then season with salt and pepper. 

4. Spread half of the tomato sauce in a 20cm x 20cm baking dish.

4.  Lie a slice of eggplant horizontally on a plate, spread the middle third with goats cheese, add some of the pumpkin mixture, then roll up and place cut side down in the dish.  Repeat with all the slices, pour the rest of the sauce around the "cannelloni" and sprinkle with the pecorino or parmesan.  Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese is melted and golden.

Enjoy Mim!!!