ES Classic: Eggplant Rollatini

Not that I’ve run out of ideas or anything, but this weekend I decided to revisit a recipe from the ghost of Endless Simmer past. Actually, it was the very first post in ES history, published EIGHT FULL MONTHS AGO! Can you believe it?

Here’s that first post, a brief write-up of my adventures with Eggplant Rollatini.

How embarrassing! I can’t believe I’m even linking to that post. Look at that awful photo choice! The misspellings! The run-on sentence recipe! It’s worse than looking at my 8th grade yearbook.

Well I made this dish again, with some new variations. But since I wasn’t cooking for my healthy, responsible parents this time, you can count on additions of carbs, cheese and plenty of oil.

After the jump, recipe for Eggplant Rollatini 2.0.

– Cut off the end of the eggplant and slice lengthwise, into thin strips.

-Fry these strips in extra virgin on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes per side – until they are thin enough to bend, but not falling apart. As noted previously, this takes a ton of oil.

– Beat one egg in a bowl or shallow dish. Fill another dish with bread crumbs, adding basil, oregano, or spices to your liking.

– Place each eggplant on a cutting board and top with a strip of roasted red pepper. Then top this with a little ricotta cheese.

– Go ahead and roll these up like a wrap. Holding them together, dip each one in the egg and then the breadcrumbs.

– Return the rolls to the pan for a minute or so per side, just to brown the breadcrumbs. (Full Disclosure: I didn’t do this extra frying step, I just thought of it after the fact, but I’m fairly sure it would add more crispy tastiness, and ensure all the bread crumbs stick, unlike on that unsightly little piece of naked eggplant you see sticking out above).

– Place the rolls in a glass baking dish and top with your fav pasta sauce, homemade or cheating, I don’t care.

– Bake for half an hour, sprinkle (i.e. douse) with parm, return to oven for another 10 minutes or so, and serve over pasta.