Rollups, or involtini, are usually made with meat. However, eggplant is just as good for making rollups, and these eggplant rollups with cheese are quite tasty. I saw a chef do them on a TV show a few years ago. Didn't take him long, and they're quite good. Who could ask for more? To make 4 servings as an antipasto or 2 as a main course:
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 large eggplant of the oblong variety
- 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cubed
- 1-2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano
- Fresh basil leaves
- 1 1/4 cups tomato sauce (see below)
- Salt
- Oil for frying
Preparation:
To make the tomato sauce, coarsely chop several tomatoes; mince a clove of garlic and sauté it in 2-3 tablespoons of oil till it begins to color, stir in the tomatoes and a pinch of salt, and cook about 10 minutes, or slightly more over a low flame.
While the sauce is cooking, peel the eggplant and cut it into 1/4 inch thick strips. Salt them, and let them sit while you prepare the tomato sauce; once it is cooking cube the mozzarella and mix it with the Parmigiano. In the meantime, heat the oil, and preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) When the tomato sauce is done remove it from the fire; rinse the salt off the eggplant, pat the strips dry, and fry them for a few minutes, until done. Remove them to an absorbent sheet of paper.
Spoon some of the tomato sauce into an oven-proof dish. Then, make the involtini by laying two strips crosswise; lay a cube of mozzarella in the middle of the X, cover it with a basil leaf, fold the strips over the top of the mozzarella, and put the involtino in the baking dish with the joined side down so it will stay closed. Continue making involtini until all is used up, spoon the remaining tomato sauce over them, and bake for 15 minutes.
A wine? White, and I might go with a Colli Albani.
Yield: 4 servings of eggplant rollups with cheese as an antipasto, or 2 as the centerpiece of a light meal.
While the sauce is cooking, peel the eggplant and cut it into 1/4 inch thick strips. Salt them, and let them sit while you prepare the tomato sauce; once it is cooking cube the mozzarella and mix it with the Parmigiano. In the meantime, heat the oil, and preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) When the tomato sauce is done remove it from the fire; rinse the salt off the eggplant, pat the strips dry, and fry them for a few minutes, until done. Remove them to an absorbent sheet of paper.
Spoon some of the tomato sauce into an oven-proof dish. Then, make the involtini by laying two strips crosswise; lay a cube of mozzarella in the middle of the X, cover it with a basil leaf, fold the strips over the top of the mozzarella, and put the involtino in the baking dish with the joined side down so it will stay closed. Continue making involtini until all is used up, spoon the remaining tomato sauce over them, and bake for 15 minutes.
A wine? White, and I might go with a Colli Albani.
Yield: 4 servings of eggplant rollups with cheese as an antipasto, or 2 as the centerpiece of a light meal.
