Eggplant Rollatini
Eggplant, baked, stuffed with ricotta, rolled, topped with sauce and mozzarella.
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoon pecorino romano or parmesan
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 2 tablespoons chopped basil or parsley
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Tomato Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- 16 ounce San Marzano Tomatoes
- salt and pepper
Instructions
Drain Ricotta
- Place ricotta on piece of cheesecloth over colander. (can use paper towels). I use Polly O brand which is more firm than most. Drain excess for up to an hour. Make sauce and sweat eggplant during this time.
Tomato Sauce
- Heat oil in sauce pan and soften garlic. Add tomatoes. Crush with your hands. Continue to cook on low, while preparing dish. Once you're ready to add sauce to dish, you can blend using an immersion blender. This is an option and something I like to do.
Sweat Eggplant
- Slice eggplant 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Use a mandolin if you have one for even slicing. Lay out slices and salt to sweat out moisture. This will take about 15-20 minutes. Rinse salt off and dry with paper towels.
- Lay eggplant on baking dish on parchment paper. Brush with olive oil and bake at 375 degrees F. for 10-15 minutes, depending on thickness of your eggplant. Test to see if eggplant easily rolls. You don't want to bake so long that you can't roll.
Prepare Ricotta Cheese
- Once drained, mix ricotta with egg, 2 tablespoons of grated pecorino romano and parmesan, 2 tablespoons mozzarella, parsley or basil. Season as needed with ground black papper and salt. If using pecorino, use just a touch salt, a this cheese is salty.
Roll Eggplant and Bake
- Once eggplant is baked and cooled, add approximately two tablespoons ricotta mixture to slices and roll. Place sauce on bottom of dish and place eggplant seam side down onto sauce. Top with more sauce, and sprinkle with mozzarella.
- Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes. Uncover and continue to bake for 5 to 10 minutes more.
