Cheesiness is next to godliness. You’re welcome.
You don't need to be Italian to make great eggplant rollatini
Eggplant was always a mystery for me. Before the internet, if you didn’t have a good cook book, you had to rely on the stories from different Italian old ladies. Actually, those old ladies are about my age now. They would tell you to salt and drain the eggplant, or other various crazy and unnecessary things.
Again, this Carmines book is a blessing, though I must admit, sometimes I do change the recipe a little bit. Mostly, I find that many recipes (not all) call for too much salt, but that is a, (my taste kinda thing). After having made this at home, I will still order it out, but this is as good as any you can get out.
Distraction:
Oh by the way – The Grand Lux Café has an Eggplant Fritter appetizer that I must reverse engineer, it is one of our favorites.
Eggplant Parmesan Fritters (at the Grand Lux)
Eggplant, Mozzarella, Fontina and Parmesan Cheese Lightly Breaded and Fried Crisp. Served Over Marinara Sauce
Ok – back to the Rollatini.
The video shows all of my choices for how golden to fry and how I rolled my rollatini.
A point of frustration with this type of recipe is that many call for 2 cups of ricotta cheese, but the container is 15 oz. To complicate matters, sometimes things are packaged by weight and sometimes by volume. In this case a 15 oz container of ricotta is by weight and the volume is 1 ¾ cups which is close enough. You don’t need to buy the 32 oz container and then waste the other 2 cups. A quarter cup of ricotta is not going to make or break the dish.
In addition to the steps below – you will need about 4 or 5 cups of marinara sauce (recipe below or use jarred) and some shredded mozzarella, shredded parmesan, and grated romano cheese for dusting over the top of the rollatini
I grew up with a guy named Dominick P. His family owned a bakery in Hoboken NJ. Hadn’t seen him in a long long time. One day I was at Unilever in Englewood Cliffs NJ to work on a computer project. Who do I bump into? Long story short, he was working in the Bertolli kitchen. NET: Bertolli is legit. I do like Victoria’s Vodka sauce as well, but there are many good quality jarred sauces if you don’t have the time or desire to make your own.
The Eggplant:
1 Medium eggplant the fat kind (not the emoji kind)
½ cup all-purpose flour
Italian style bread crumbs
5 eggs beaten
The filling:
1 15 oz or 16 oz container of ricotta cheese – you can use skim or whole milk – your preference
8 oz shredded mozzarella – again skim, part skim, or whole milk, your preference
2 eggs
¼ cup grated romano cheese
2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley
Salt and pepper to taste – I used ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
10 slices of prosciutto – or enough to put a little in each rollatini – does not need to be a full slice
Beat the eggs in a bowl
Add the chees, salt, and pepper, mix well, set aside
Slice the eggplant into 1/8 – ¼ inch slices – I got 12 slices total – this includes 2 end slices so 10 middle slices total that we will use
Dredge the eggplant slices in flour, coat with egg, coat with bread crumbs
Working in batches (I did 2 at a time) Fry the eggplant slices in olive oil over a medium flame (not too hot)
Turn when golden
Remove from pan when golden on both sides
Spread some sauce in the bottom of a baking dish that can accommodate the eggplant – this part is about 5 minutes into the video. Maybe 2 cups of sauce will do, maybe a little more or less.
Spread about a tablespoon (a little more) of the filling over each fried eggplant slice
Place a piece of prosciutto onto each eggplant slice
Roll them loosely lengthwise and place them seam side down in the baking dish (should look like a jelly roll)
Cover them with a little bit of sauce
Sprinkle some cheese on top
Cover with foil to prevent burning on top
Bake at 375 ° for about 45 minutes – uncover and bake for another 5 - 10 minutes – keep an eye so the cheese does not burn
The marinara sauce – makes about 5 cups
3 28 oz cans of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
OR 1 90 oz can
1 ounce olive oil
¼ cup crushed, finely chopped garlic
1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh basil
½ teaspoon dried basil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
¾ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Sauté the garlic in the olive oil to soften. Over medium / low flame. Don’t let it brown, but a little color is ok
Add the herbs, salt and pepper – quick stir
Start crushing the tomatoes with your hand into the pot
Give it a stir to prevent burning
Crush the rest of the tomatoes into the pot
Add the rest of the contents of the cans of tomato into the pot and stir
Cover and simmer for 2 hours.
Kiss yourself for making deliciousness.
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