Beautiful Eggplant Rollatini!

I love August. I love the summer sound of crickets that come in my window at night. I love the way the summer sun starts to become a little softer. I love watching the kids get back on the school bus(sorry, Molls and Tim). And I especially love the end of summer produce that appears on my counter tops. I suddenly had 5 eggplants staring at me in my vegetable bowl at home, so, I made rollatini(by Giada) which is one of the greatest recipes ever!
Here are the ingredients you will need...

4 medium eggplant, cut lengthwise into 1/2 in slices

1T. sea salt

1/2 cup olive oil

3 T. toasted pine nuts

32 oz whole-milk ricotta cheese

2 large eggs beaten

1/2 c. shredded mozzarella

3T. grated Parmesan cheese

20 basil leaves

2 c. black pepper

I started off by placing the eggplant on a baking sheet and sprinkling it with the salt. I set aside for 15 minutes. This will help extract some of the moisture. Then I rinsed and patted dry. Next, I brushed the eggplant with olive oil and grilled, about 4 minutes per side(thanks B).

In a large bowl, combine your beaten eggs and ricotta. Stir in your mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and toasted pine nuts. Fold in the basil leaves.

Place 1 T. of cheese mixture at the end of your eggplant and roll up tightly as seen below.

Place the rollatinis seam-side down into a lightly oiled 13 X 9 in baking dish.

Make some marinara sauce(I used Giadas), but any sauce would substitute fine.





Pour sauce over your rollatinis and add salt and pepper. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. Drizzle some more olive oil across the top and serve.


Savor.

Hope your summer was as fun as mine.