Eggplant Involtini
Slices of baked eggplant become a canvas for many fillings and are known as involtini, roll ups. In this version, good, well drained ricotta cheese makes an easy but elegant filling. Other fillings could include ricotta and spinach, grilled pepper strips and Asiago cheese, pesto sauce, thin tomato sauced linguine.
Ingredients
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 3 eggplant, each about 7 inches long
- Coarse salt
- Coarse black pepper
- 1 lb whole milk ricotta cheese, well drained
- 2 cups tomato sauce
- Grated caciocavallo (provolone cheese) for sprinkling on top
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Oil 2 baking sheets and set aside.
- Cut the stem and ends of each eggplant. Cut ¼-inch thick lengthwise slices. Arrange the slices in a single layer on the baking sheets. Repeat with remaining slices.
- Bake the slices for 10-12 minutes or just until they soften and are tender when pierced with a knife.
- Let the slices cool until easy to handle.
- Mix the ricotta cheese in a bowl with salt and pepper to taste.
- Use a spoon to spread about 2 tablespoons of cheese lengthwise on each slice.
- Starting at one end, roll each slice up like a jelly roll and place the rolls in a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking sheet that is covered in a thin layer of tomato sauce.
- Top the dish with the remaining sauce and dot the top with the grated cheese.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the dish and bake 10 minutes longer.
- Serve hot.
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