We love eggplant parmesan, but I wanted to change things up a bit. Inspired by one of Giada De Laurentiis‘ recipes for eggplant rollatini I decided to create my own version of the recipe for Meatless Monday.
Instead of frying or baking the eggplant with a crispy breading, I skipped the whole breading process completely and rolled the eggplant with a ricotta cheese mixture inside, topped it with sauce and more cheese and baked it in the oven to perfection.
How To Make Eggplant Rollatini
The Sauce:
In a saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until soft and light golden brown; about 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the thyme and carrot, and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
The Eggplant:
Meanwhile, slice ends off the eggplant and discard.
Cut the eggplant lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick slices, discarding the two leftover skin covered ends.
You should at least 10 good slices in total. Lay slices in a straining basket and sprinkle both sides liberally with salt.
Let stand for 15 to 30 minutes.
Rinse the salt off under cold running water and pat slices dry.
Read more about this salting process HERE.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Brush both sides of eggplant slices with olive oil and place them in a single layer on 2 baking sheets. Roast for 15 minutes, until tender, turning eggplant slices over halfway through. Let cool until cool enough to handle.
The Cheese Mixture:
In a small bowl, mix the ricotta and ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese, with a fork until well blended, then fold in herbs to combine.
The Rollatini:
In a 9×12 baking dish or two small 8×10 baking dishes pour in about a ½ cup of sauce to cover the bottom of the dish.
Place about 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture, spreading it down the center of each eggplant slice.
Roll up slices and place seam-side down into the sauce covered baking dish.
Top with remaining sauce, mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.
Bake uncovered until rollatini are heated through and mozzarella cheese melts; about 30 to 45 minutes.
Fresh eggplant rolled with a cheesy filling and topped with a savory sauce, you’ll totally forget it is meatless!
Eggplant Rollatini
Ingredients
- 1 eggplants (medium-sized, about 2 pounds)
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (divided)
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- ½ cup parmesan cheese fresh grated, (divided)
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
- 1 tablespoon Italian parsley fresh, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cups basic tomato sauce (recipe follows)
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
Basic Tomato Sauce
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ large onion ¼-inch diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 ½ tablespoons thyme
- 2 tablespoons carrot finely grated
- 28 ounce can peeled whole tomatoes crushed by hand with juice
Instructions
The Sauce
- In a saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until soft and light golden brown (8 to 10 minutes). Add the thyme and carrot, and cook 5 minutes more, until the carrot is quite soft. Add the tomatoes and juice and bring to a boil, stirring often. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes until as thick as hot cereal. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
The Eggplant
- Meanwhile, slice ends off the eggplant and discard. Cut the eggplant lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick slices. Discard the two leftover skin covered ends. You should at least 10 good slices total. Lay slices in a straining basket and sprinkle both sides liberally with salt. Let stand for 15 to 30 minutes, then rinse the salt off under cold running water and pat slices dry.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with olive oil and place in single layers on 2 baking sheets. Roast for 15 minutes, until tender, turning eggplant slices over halfway through. Let cool until cool enough to handle.
The Cheese Mixture
- In a small bowl, mix the ricotta and ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese, with a fork until well blended, then fold in herbs to combine.
The Rollatini
- In a 9×12 baking dish or two small 8×10 baking dishes pour in about a ½ cup of sauce to cover the bottom of the dish. Place about 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture, spreading it down the center of each eggplant slice. Roll up slices and place seam-side down into the sauce covered baking dish. Top with remaining sauce, mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.
- Bake uncovered until rollatini are heated through and mozzarella cheese melts; about 30 to 45 minutes.
Dana @ IveGotCake says
Creative recipes, me likee!
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks! But I know… I know… it’s got cheese.
Dor says
Oh, does this look delicious! If only my husband liked cheese! 🙁
The Mountain Kitchen says
Oh that’s right… Well, perhaps a small eggplant would work for one.
chitrajagdish says
Wow very innovative. ..
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks Chitra!