Eggplant Rollatini
You know how much I love eggplant and this is one of my favorite dishes.
On my restaurant’s menu in the 80s, Eggplant Rollatini was a popular main dish. I ate it often at the end of the evening service.
Make the marinara sauce, fry the eggplant, stuff and bake the rollatini in the oven. You can make this flavorful dish in about an hour.
The creamy ricotta filling is wrapped in crispy eggplant and salty prosciutto. The mild San Marzano tomato, basil and garlic sauce echoes the eggplant’s sweetness.
Watch my eggplant parmigiano video episode to see how to coat and fry the eggplant. Watch me whip up a ricotta filling in my ravioli video episode. But be sure to follow this recipe for the best Eggplant Rollatini ever.
Buon appetito!
Eggplant Rollatini
Recipe Type: vegetables
Cuisine: Italian
Author:
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Crispy fried eggplant with a ricotta and prosciutto filling is baked topped with a simple marinara sauce.
Ingredients
- For the Eggplant
- 2 eggplants
- 1 cup flour
- 3 tablespoons EVOO
- For the Egg Wash
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons grated pecorino or parmigiano
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat Italian parsley
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- For the Ricotta Filling
- 16 ounces ricotta
- 8 ounces mozzarella, cut in 1-inch cubes
- 1/4 cup grated pecorino or parmigiano
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat Italian parsley
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- For the Marinara Sauce
- 28 ounce can imported Italian San Marzano tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tablespoon EVOO
- 1 sprig fresh basil
- sea salt to taste
- 1/4 cup grated pecorino or parmigiano cheese for topping the rollatini before baking
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Making the Marinara Sauce
- Put the tomatoes in a large bowl and crush them with your hands (or a potato masher). Remove any large stems and skin.
- Put the oil and the garlic in a pot over medium-high heat.
- Saute the garlic until it takes on a light tan color.
- Add the tomatoes to the pot.
- Add sea salt to taste.
- Add the basil and simmer over low heat stirring occasionally until the volume reduces by one-third.
- Frying the Eggplant
- Cut off the ends of the eggplant. Slice the eggplant in 1/2 inch slices lengthwise. (I don’t peel the eggplant so I discard the first and last slice that is completely covered by the black skin on one side.) You should have about 15 slices to coat.
- Sprinkle with salt and place the slices in a colander. Put the colander in the sink or over a large plate for about 15 minutes. Bitter dark liquid will release from the eggplant slices.
- Wash the eggplant slices well and pat dry. Set aside.
- Add the eggs to a bowl large enough to hold the eggplant slices and beat them well.
- Add the grated cheese, parsley, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste and beat the egg mixture well.
- Put 3 tablespoons of EVOO in a large saute pan and heat over medium heat.
- Place the egg wash on the counter closest to the saute pan.
- Place the the flour in a dish and place it next to the egg wash.
- Flour both sides of the eggplant slice. Tap off any excess flour.
- Coat both sides of the eggplant slice with the egg mixture.
- Saute the eggplant slices until both sides are golden brown.
- Remove the slices to a dish lined with paper towel.
- Continue coating and frying all of the eggplant slices. Add more oil if necessary.
- For the Ricotta Filling
- Put the ricotta in a strainer to let the liquid drain, about 15 minutes.
- Put the ricotta in a large bowl along with all the other ingredients and mix everything together well.
- Assembling the Rollatini
- Cover the bottom of a large baking dish with a light coating of the sauce.
- Put the fried eggplant on a work surface and cover each with a slice of prosciutto.
- Put a tablespoon of the ricotta filling on each slice about 2-inches from the narrow end of the eggplant slice.
- Starting at the narrow end roll up the slice and place it seam side down in the baking dish.
- Continue making the rollatini and place them in rows in the baking dish.
- Sprinkle the grated pecorino evenly over the rollatini.
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until the ricotta filling is hot and the mozzarella melts.
How much prosciutto do you need?