Eggplant Rollatini

Eggplant Rollatini

Last Christmas, my cousins bought all of my family different cookbooks, and actually purchased me a greek one. That being said, I traded my mother for Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis and I was VERY happy! (Sorry Michelle and Richard, we never told you….)

I find this recipe is a great, low-carb, Italian option for dinner. It still has all of the flavors you may want in an eggplant parmesan, or vegetarian lasagna, but a slightly different version. Grilling the vegetables also add a smoky dimension you don’t get in other preparations.

This is easy enough to make a day ahead and heat in the oven, which is what I did when I had two of my girlfriends, Jenny and Jordan, over to prepare for a baby shower. (See Jungle Shower.)

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants (or you can use zucchini, but it is harder to roll.)

Salt

Vegetable Oil Spray

16 ounces ricotta cheese

1 large egg, lightly beaten

½ cup shredded mozzarella

4 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan

3 tablespoons basil, chopped

1 cups tomato sauce (and I added 1 large, chopped tomato)

Directions:

Preheat Grill (pan) and oven to 375 degrees.

Cut the 2 ends off the eggplant, discard. Cut the eggplants lengthwise into ½ inch thick slices. Sprinkle each with salt and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Pat dry to remove excess moisture.

Spray oil on grill pan and place eggplant slices on the grill until lightly browned on each side and tender, about 4 minutes per side. This may have to be done in batches. Remove slices and allow them to cool to touch.

While eggplant is cooking, in a medium bowl, add beaten egg, ricotta, mozzarella, 1/2 the parmesan and basil. (I cheated and just did this in a larger ricotta container. Might as well save a dish!)

Place a tablespoon of the cheese mixture on the end of one eggplant slice, and roll up tightly. Place the rolled eggplant into a 13 by 9 baking dish, seam side down. Continue this with all the eggplant (or zucchini.)