Eggplant Rollatini
Eggplant Rollatini is summer on a plate. This elegant easy recipe fills thinly sliced roasted eggplant with a fragrant ricotta herb mixture.
Servings: 6 people
Ingredients
For the eggplant:
- 2 very large eggplants 2¾-3 lbs total. Eggplants should be thick.
- extra virgin olive oil for brushing
- kosher salt for sprinkling
For the filling:
- 16 oz. full fat ricotta cheese (I recommend BelGioioso brand)
- 1.5 oz. Pecorino Romano cheese finely grated. See notes.
- ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 2 pinches dried oregano
- ¼ packed cup fresh basil leaves finely sliced (measure after slicing)
- 1 cup fresh baby spinach finely chopped (measure after chop)
- 3 tablespoons Panko breadcrumbs
For the pan:
- 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic minced
- 1 sprig rosemary leaves finely minced
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 24 oz tomato sauce your favorite tomato/pasta sauce or recipe for my roasted cherry tomato sauce, see notes for link.
- Pecorino Romano cheese for topping
- fresh basil leaves for topping
Instructions
For the eggplant:
- Line 1-2 baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 415 °F
- Using a very sharp knife, cut eggplants into long planks ¼-⅜ thick and evenly space them on the baking sheets.
- Using a pastry brush, lightly brush each eggplant plank evenly with olive oil and lightly sprinkle with kosher salt. Turn the planks over then repeat.
- Roast the eggplant in the oven between 15-20 minutes until the eggplant is lightly golden browned. Using a fork, carefully flip them over and roast them for another 8-15 minutes until they are golden brown. Make sure to keep an eye on them! They can burn during the last few minutes. Remove the eggplant from the oven and set aside to cool.
For the filling:
- While the eggplant is roasting, combine the ricotta cheese, Pecorino Romano cheese, granulated garlic powder, oregano, and basil leaves in a medium sized bowl. Use a fork to incorporate all of the ingredients together. Stir in the panko then the spinach. Set aside.
To fill the eggplant:
- Place one spoonful (about 2 tablespoons, I use a normal soup spoon) of the filling onto the bottom of an eggplant plank. This should be the widest part of the eggplant.
- Gently roll the eggplant up from the filled side up to the narrow top of the eggplant. Set aside and repeat until all eggplant is filled.
For the pan:
- In an oven/broiler safe 3 - 3½ quart deep pan with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and rosemary. Cook for one minute or until the garlic is golden and fragrant. Carefully add the tomato sauce and the bay leaf. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer gently until warmed and the bay leaf has softened. About 10 minutes.
- Scoop out about 1 cup of the sauce into small bowl and set aside.
- Nest the eggplant bundles into the pan, seam side down. Spoon the reserved sauce over each eggplant bundle. Generously sprinkle the eggplant bundles with Pecorino Romano cheese hen cover the pan with the lid. Simmer on the lowest setting for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the broiler. Uncover the pan and gently slide the pan under the broiler and carefully watch for about 1-3 minutes until the eggplant is bubbly and delicious! Remove from the boiler and sprinkle with fresh basil. Serve immediately.
Notes
You can alternatively use Parmesan cheese instead of Pecorino Romano but it will not have as much flavor.
Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce is perfect for this recipe instead of jarred pasta sauce.