Easy Eggplant Rollatini - thin slabs of Eggplants are rolled with Ricotta, Parmesan, Basil Pesto, and Mozzarella. It is placed on a baking sheet with Marinara sauce and baked to perfection. It looks quite like Eggplant Lasagna but there is no layering. When thinking easy Italian Dinner recipe that requires just a wee bit of effort - think Easy Eggplant Rollatini Recipe. Its just like these Squash Enchiladas or Zucchini Ravioli recipe.
Easy Eggplant Rollatini Recipe
Eggplant Rollatini is simply thin Eggplant rolls stuffed with lots of good things (such as Ricotta Cheese, Mozzarella Cheese, Parmesan Cheese, Basil Pesto, and much more) and baked until perfection.
When you take the first bite your taste buds swim in an ocean of flavors. There is the tartiness of ricotta, nuttiness of basil pesto, cheesy goodness of Parmesan and Mozzarella Cheese. And, all of this is wrapped in a thin slab of Eggplant.
In my home, this recipe is a pure-winner. I love this recipe. In fact, I make this so many times in a month. Of course, you can add your variations.
If you want meat or poultry, you can add ground chicken or ground beef, or ground turkey to your Eggplant rollatini.
You can also bake this just as is and then serve it with crispy fried bacon on top. Does that sound appealing?
Curious as to if Rollatini is even Italian?
Well, as much as I love Italian food, most of the times, I love to know the history behind a dish. And to my surprise upon my research for Rollatini, I've found that Rollatini is actually a very Americanized version of "involtini" which is small bundles of rolled dishes, usually stuffed with Ricotta and herbs.
And ofcourse, I wasn't surpised that this rolled concept stems from South of Italy - Puglia! Just like Cannoli 😀😀😀. Read more about it here.
How to Cut Eggplant for this recipe
Cutting the Eggplant for Eggplant Rollatini is not rocket science and there are few tricks using which you can easily cut it for this recipe.
- Trim the Edges.
- Cut thin 1/4 inch slabs lengthwise
- Or use Mandolin Slicer to cut them into thin slices
How to Make Eggplant Rollatini from scratch
STEP 1: Slice Eggplant thinly
As I said above use a mandolin slicer or a knife to cut thin slabs of Eggplant. Make sure you eliminate the odd-numbered parts as you won't be able to roll them. Take special care so as not to slice them thick.
STEP 2: Roast Eggplant in Oven
Season eggplant slices with salt. Allow it to sit for 30-minutes. This is the time when the eggplant "sweats out" its bitterness.
After 30-minutes use a paper towel to tap it dry. Now brush them with olive oil. Roast them in a preheated oven at 380 degrees for 8-minutes.
Roasting the Eggplant in the oven will make them pliable. Therefore you'll be able to roll them easily.
STEP 3: Make the Filling
I have kept the filling pretty easy and straightforward. You can definitely add variety to this filling and make your own filling instead.
What I have done is - combined Ricotta Cheese, Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, Grated Parmesan Cheese, Dried Basil & Parsley, Salt, Pepper, and Smoked Paprika.
STEP 4: Roll the Eggplants
Now place the filling in the middle of the eggplant and roll it from the sides. Repeat this with all of your remaining Eggplant slabs.
STEP 5: Bake
Take a Baking sheet and add Marinara Sauce on the bottom. Place Eggplant Rollatinis in a single layer as shown in the video and images.
Top it with some more Marinara Sauce, Basil Pesto, and Mozzarella Cheese. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 30-minutes.
Other Variations for this Recipe
- Use Meat: In case you want to use meat then you can definitely use ground beef or ground turkey or ground chicken while making your filling.
- Ricotta and Spinach: Traditionally, you'd see people raising eyebrows but I love the combination of Spinach Ricotta. Can't wait to see how awesome it would taste.
- Asiago and Pecorino: Instead of Parmesan and Mozzarella you can use Asiago and Pecorino Cheese.
What Do I Serve this with?
Generally, Eggplant Rollatini goes best with any side salad or leafy greens. Since this is a complete meal in itself therefore it needs nothing but fresh salads on its side.
I would recommend you to try this with - Feel Good Apple Orange Salad with Walnuts and Mint Leaves
or Creamy Macaroni Salad or
Creamy Cucumber Onion Salad with Dill and Sour Cream or
this Delicious and Refreshing Moroccan Beet Salad.
Other Recipes you might like:
If you are making this recipe, then please leave a rating below. Also take a snap and share it on Instagram with #recipemagik. Tag me @recipemagik so that I can see how it turned out.
Eggplant Rollatini Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Medium-sized Eggplants about 1 lb each
- Kosher Salt to coat Eggplant (as per requirement)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1½ Cup Low Sodium Marinara Sauce divided
Filling
- ½ Cup Part Skim Ricotta Cheese
- 1½ Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese divided
- 1 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 Cup Basil Pesto divided
- ½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- ½ Teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- 1 Teaspoon Dried Basil
- ½ teaspoon Dried Parsley
- Fresh chopped parsley or basil for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat Oven to 380 degrees F. Use a Mandolin Slicer or your knife to cut the eggplant into thin ¼inch slices.
- Season your Eggplant slabs with salt and allow them to sit for 8-10 minutes. After 8-minutes, pat them dry using a paper towel.
- Brush Olive Oil on the Eggplant slabs. Bake it in a preheated oven at 380 degrees F for 8-minutes. Once done allow them to cool down for a while.
- In the meantime make the filling. Take a medium-sized mixing bowl. Combine Ricotta Cheese, Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, Grated Parmesan Cheese, Salt, Ground black pepper, Smoked Paprika, dried basil & parsley, and Basil Pesto.Mix well to combine.
- Place the filling in the center of the Eggplant slices. Roll them up from one side.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Take a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour Marinara Sauce (save some for later), and arrange eggplant rollatini's in a single layer as shown in the picture.Add remaining Marinara Sauce and basil pesto on the rollatini. Finish it off with some shredded Mozzarella Cheese.Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 30-minutes.
- Garnish with freshly chopped basil or parsley. Serve with any side salad.
Video
Notes
- Use Fresh basil
- Use Pecorino Romano along with Parmigiano Reggiano for the most authentic flavor
- Ofcourse, use fresh in season to make the most authentic Homemade Marinara
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