Slow-cooked pork & eggplant cannelloni with crème fraiche

Cooking Directions

• Heat 1⁄3 of the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Cook the eggplant in batches until golden, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside, repeat with remaining eggplant adding oil as needed.
• Add pork to pan, season with salt and pepper and cook until browned. Remove from pan and set aside. Add onion and garlic and cook until lightly browned. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add sugar, balsamic, orange zest, thyme and paprika; stir well to combine. Add stock, tomato, bay leaves, half of the eggplant and pork and bring to a simmer. Cover, cook over a gentle heat for 2-3 hours or until very tender.
• Remove pork from cooking liquid and, using two forks, shred the meat. Add 2 cups of sauce to shredded pork; this forms the cannelloni filling. Add remaining eggplant to sauce and reduce if necessary.
• Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan forced). Grease the base of an ovenproof dish. Top a pasta sheet with approximately 1⁄3 cup of meat mixture and roll lengthwise. Place, fold side down in baking dish, repeat with remaining filling and pasta sheets. Spoon remaining sauce over cannelloni, cover and seal well with baking paper and foil. Cook for 20–30 minutes. Remove cover, plate two cannelloni with sauce, spoon over crème fraiche, top with a generous handful of grated cheese. Flash under the grill quickly to brown cheese.