Garlicky Baked Eggplant Rollatini
Break out the garlic, it’s rollatini time! Simply roll slices of eggplant with a ricotta cheese filling and bake. This is a cheesy and delicious Italian dish, without frying and added oils. Vegetarian and gluten-free.
Time
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Ingredients
Sauce:
1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slices or thinner
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded and grated, plus extra for topping
1 egg
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped (5-7 leaves)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
Fresh ground pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Directions
Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly salt the eggplant slices on both sides with coarse salt. Let slices sit and “sweat” for 10 minutes. Pat dry with paper towels. Lay eggplant in a single layer on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool.
In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, parmesan, egg, garlic, several chopped fresh basil leaves, salt, pepper flakes and black pepper. Spoon one tablespoon of ricotta filling into each end of the eggplant slices and roll up.
Spoon half the sauce onto the bottom of a baking pan and place the eggplant rolls into the dish. Spoon the remaining sauce over the top of the dish. Top evenly with parmesan cheeses.
Cover the dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the foil and bake for more 5 minutes. Top with fresh basil.