Aubergine Canneloni - Family Meal to Prep in Advance

Can it be called 'canneloni' if it contains no pasta? I think the style of the content justifies it.

I devised this dish as a nice way to serve aubergines - they're lovely to look at, but suffer an awful fate sometimes in sloppy dishes such as overcooked mass-produced ratatouille. And in most recipes the slices are fried before baking, which allows them to absorb as much oil as they're given. I prefer to microwave the slices and then allow the other ingredients to work their magic in the oven or on the hob.  

via richard_north

The recipe serves 4 but can easily be halved, doubled, or - as in my picture below - increased by half to serve six. The preparation takes 50 minutes or so, but can be done in advance by making the canneloni and keeping (covered) in the fridge overnight and making up the sauce and keeping separately. Baking the dish takes about 35min.

Aubergine Canneloni
Lightly oil a rectangular (approx 20x14cm) or square (17x17cm) fairly shallow oven-proof dish.
The oven should be at 175C when the dish is assembled ready to bake, middle shelf.

Ingredients
2 large aubergines
1 tbsp oil
1 large onion
large can chopped tomatoes
150ml white wine or vegetarian stock (otherwise water)
1 tsp soft dark brown sugar (otherwise clear honey)
salt & pepper
200g low fat soft cheese or Ricotta
50g grated vegetarian Cheddar
sprig of basil, snipped
50g finely chopped nuts (or flaked almonds)
 
Method
1  Trim away the ends of the aubergines and carve lengthwise into thin (about 7mm) 
         slices. Discard the skin-covered outer edge from each side; this should leave 
         about 8 slices for each aubergine.
2  Sprinkle with a little water and microwave on high for 3 mins in two batches, 
         spreading the slices around the plate.
3  Heat the oil in a medium pan. Peel and coarsely chop the onion and fry for 5min.
4  Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 10min. (Meanwhile, go to 6 below.)
5  Add the wine, stock or water and sugar to the pan; simmer a further 10min. Add
         salt/pepper as required. Set aside for now.
6  Meanwhile, mix the soft cheese, Cheddar, basil and nuts in a bowl and season.
7  Spread each aubergine slice almost to each end with the cheese mixture and
         roll up tightly. Pack in the oven dish in a single layer, seam side down.

8  Bake for 20min (without the sauce). 
9  Pour the tomato sauce over the dish, helping it to filter between the aubergine rolls. 
         Bake for a further 15min until well bubbling.

As so often, in the excitement of serving, I forgot to take a photo of the completed dish, so here's what was left of recipe-and-a-half after six people were served! (More went as seconds ...)

A decent side salad would go well, and as there's no pasta, perhaps baby potatoes. Since I tend to overcater with so many things I love to produce, here's the actual menu for this family lunch:
aubergine canneloni, baby roasted potatoes, mini stuffed sweet pepper halves, chick pea salad, pea/mint/onion relish, dark olive tapenade, French stick, savoury crackers. Followed by blackberry and apple crumble (topped with ground cardamom seeds), fresh strawberries and melon balls in mango juice, and Chantilly cream - but that's another story.