I love eggplant! Love it. It’s nutritious. Delicious. And highly underrated. Let’s face it…you say eggplant to someone who never really has tasted one and you get the wrinkled up nose and the comment that they don’t like eggplant. Well, how do they know? And have they ever had eggplant done right?
One of my favorite things to cook with eggplant is eggplant rollatini. This recipe is fantastic and snagged from one of my favorite magazines to dive into every month – Prevention.
It’s healthy, easy , and delicious. The eggplant is soft and tender, like a noodle…but healthier. And the filling…yeah…it’s the star. If you are unsure about eggplant, I recommend trying out this recipe and seeing if it changes your mind. Trust me…you’ll fall in love with it.
Recipe: Eggplant Rollatini
Servings: 4
Time: Prep 10 minutes; Cook 50 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 large eggplant
- 1 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups marinara sauce
- 1 ounce (1/4 cup) shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese
Directions:
Preheat the broiler.
Coat a large baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray.
Coat a 9″x 9″ baking dish with cooking spray and place 1/2 cup of marinara sauce on bottom of dish to coat.
Peel the eggplant, if desired. (Personally, I left the skin on).
Cut lengthwise into 1/4″-thick slices. Place on the prepared baking sheet and coat with olive oil cooking spray.
Broil 6″ from the heat for 10 minutes or until softened and lightly browned, turning once. Reduce the oven to 350°F.
Combine the ricotta, Parmesan, basil, garlic and pepper in a medium bowl.
Divide evenly between the eggplant, spooning onto 1 end of each slice.
Roll the slices around the filling, starting from a short side.
Arrange seam sides down in the prepared baking dish.
Spoon 2 cups of the marinara sauce over the eggplant rolls and sprinkle with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
Cover and bake for 25 minutes or until heated through.
Serve.
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The most difficult part of this recipe was slicing the eggplant. Originally the mandolin slicer was what I attempted, but that didn’t work out. A run to the grocery store later and another eggplant and I was hand slicing these as thin as possible. It worked. And my eggplant browned up nicely under the broiler.
Even better, once I arranged the 8 rolls of eggplant, sauced it, cheesed it, and allowed it to bake, it came out perfectly. I mean…what’s not to love about baked, tender eggplant rolled around a delicious blend of cheeses and topped off with sauce. I even used my homemade marinara sauce from my previous post for this dish. Perfect pairing.
Go on. Go get an eggplant and try this one for yourself. It’s not only nutritious…but it is guaranteed to satisfy even the pickiest palate.
The Celiathlete 