Pesto Vegetable Roll-Ups

In case it’s not obvious, I love pesto. I use is as a salad dressing, on pasta, on bread…almost anything Mediterranean I make will have pesto in it in some way.

I also have to confess that I almost never make my own pesto, I mean who has time for that?! One of my favourite things to eat when I have almost no time to cook is pasta with pesto and tomatoes. The beauty of pesto is it’s versatility and convenience.

I know a fair amount of you are vegan and/or gluten free. So don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. If you’ve ever asked me on Instagram about my pesto you’ll know that I rely on Sacla’ quite heavily, and have done for years and years. What you may not know is that Sacla’ have a ‘Free-From’ range that includes pasta sauces and pestos! The Sacla’ Free From Basil pesto is amazing! It’s my favourite thing. Honestly you can’t really tell the difference between this one and the standard version, which is impressive considering it’s free from dairy, wheat, and gluten. I eat all of those 3 things, but this pesto tastes so damn good I love it. If you haven’t tried it yet, I definitely recommend checking it out…and then making this recipe!

This is definitely quite a fancy dish that’s designed to impress visually as much as it pleases your taste buds. It takes a bit of extra time to make, but the result is worth it. If you have no desire to roll up a bunch of veg, just spread some pesto to one side of each veggie slice and line then up side by side until the dish is full!

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients:

1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
olive oil
Salt and pepper
2 small aubergines
2 small courgettes
1 jar of Sacla’ Free From Basil Pesto
Parmesan/vegetarian hard cheese/vegan Parmesan (optional)

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C
2. Heat a little olive oil in a small pot
3. Chop the onion and fry at low heat for around 10 minutes
4. Crush the garlic and add to the pot. Cook for another few minutes
5. Add the can of chopped tomatoes, turn up the heat and cook down gently
6. Add the tomato puree and season well
7. Optional: blend the sauce to make it nice and smooth. I find this looks better in the final dish!
8. In the meantime, use a mandolin or a sharp knife to slice the aubergine and courgettes lengthways into thin slices. If they’re too thick and stiff to roll up, steam or microwave them for a few minutes until pliable enough
9. Pour the tomato sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish (ideally square)
10. Time to roll! Take each slice of aubergine or courgette (if the courgette is too thin put 2-3 slices together), spread some pesto over the top, and roll into a swirl. Place this on top of the tomato sauce, and repeat until the dish is full.
11. Sprinkle some cheese on top (optional) and fresh basil
12. Bake in the oven for 15 mins

This post is sponsored by Sacla’, however all opinions and ideas remain my own.