Friday Foodie

Once again, I turned to Rosalie Serving Italian for this week's new recipe. She has an entire section devoted to vegetables and I decided to try Eggplant Rolatini. In her comments, she states that this can be a side dish or used as a main dish. We had it both ways! The first night we had it with pasta, then last night we had it on its own. The recipe can be found on her blog, so here it is:

1 large eggplant

1 tablespoon salt

1 cup Progresso Italian Style bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped

3 eggs beaten, more if needed

Salt and pepper

1 (15-ounce) carton Ricotta cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded thin

1/2 cup Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon black ground pepper

1/3 cup olive oil for frying, more if needed

Marinara Sauce of your choice, or

Rosalie's Marinara Sauce on page 127 of Rosalie Serving Italian

1. Preheat oven to 375-degrees. Cut stem and end from eggplant. Peel the eggplant partially in strips, leaving some of the peel intact. Using a meat cutter or a mandoline, slice the eggplant into thin lengthwise slices, about 1/8-inch thick. Let the eggplant slices soak in cool water with the salt added for about 30 minutes while you prepare the other steps.

2. Place the bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, and parsley in a shallow plate. Beat the eggs until fluffy.

3. Prepare the filling by placing the Ricotta, mozzarella, Pecorino Romano, parsley, egg and pepper in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.

4. Rinse the eggplant in cool water and drain. Dip each slice in the beaten eggs and then the bread crumbs on both sides. Place the olive oil in a large skillet and over medium heat; fry the eggplant about 2 minutes on each side until golden. Salt and pepper lightly as they fry. Drain slices on paper towels. Add olive oil to pan as needed and if necessary, start a clean pan midway of frying.

5. Meanwhile, using a 13 by 9-inch baking dish, pour in 1/2 cup marinara sauce to cover the bottom. When all of the eggplant slices have been fried and drained, place them on a large cookie sheet. Place 2 tablespoons Ricotta filling on each slice and spread gently. Starting from the short end of the slice, roll the eggplant up jelly-roll style. Place each roll, seam-side down, in the baking dish. You should have about 15 rolls. Top with the Parmesan cheese and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Bake about 20 to 30 minutes or until bubbly.

This was very good but a lot of work! The cookbook said 1 hour, 45 minutes and that was about right! My first was mistake was trying to cut the eggplant without a meat slicer. I was able to cut it with a knife, but I'm sure it wasn't as good looking as Rosalie's! I don't think I got as much out of it either, because I had a lot of the breading and filling left over. As I was working with the eggplant, I was already plotting... next time I'll try this with zucchini, since it is much easier to work with!

Nutritional info: 137 calories / 5.8 g fat / 3.2 g fiber / 2.6 WW points per roll with sauce.