I absolutely love eggplants and every now and then I search the internet for recipes where I can use fresh eggplants growing in my backyard. It is quite easy to grow eggplants and they don’t even take much time before they are ready to be used in curries and other recipes.
Eggplants have been long prized for their glossy beauty. Also known as aubergine, they are commonly used in Indian as well as a range of International dishes. One of the best things about eggplants is that they are easy to prepare and they require very little cooking time. In addition, there are no seeds and messy juices to deal with which makes eggplants an easy choice for recipes.
Eggplants are tasty no matter how they are cooked. You can roast them, fry them or cook them in combination with a range of other vegetables such as potatoes and tomatoes. But, today, we are going to try something different and interesting. I found this recipe sometime back and when I tried it, it turned out to be really nice and yummy. So the next time I have guests coming over, I have decided to surprise them with my Eggplant Involtini dish prepared from eggplants picked directly from my backyard.
Eggplant is a vegetable that is not loved by many people. Whether it is their color, size, shape or taste, they have always received some sort of criticism. But, after trying this Eggplant Involtini dish, it doesn’t seem that any of this is true. Eggplant Involtini is easy to prepare, but it does take little bit of time because it involves stuffing and frying. The ricotta stuffing that we prepared was amazing and when it was combined with eggplant slices and fried, they were simply mouth watering.
To keep this dish towards the healthier side, we used olive oil, but you can also use canola oil. Regarding the stuffing part, you can use whatever you feel like. Cheese is always a great stuffing for any vegetable dish, but if you want to use other ingredients, herbs and spices, feel free to do so. In addition, the Involtini part is also only limited to your imagination. You can use any other ingredient or half cooked vegetables that you delight. This dish is simply amazing on its own or with toasted bread or flavoured rice. It is tasty and you are sure to enjoy it.
http://www.alexandracooks.com/2011/09/29/eggplant-involtini/
Serves: 2
You can also prepare bread crumbs at home. Follow this recipe and you will have nice and crispy bread crumbs to use in your dish.
Ingredients
- Day old bread, about 3 pieces torn into smaller chunks
- Kosher salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp herbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to about 400 degrees F.
- Take a bowl and add chunks of bread, olive oil, herbs and pinch of salt.
- Spread the chunks into a baking sheet and place into the oven.
- Bake until the chunks turn golden brown in color for about 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow it to cool.
- After it has cooled, place in a ziplock bag and crumble the chunks finely using a rolling pin.
Ingredients:
Involtini:
- 1 eggplant
- Olive oil or canola oil for frying
- Kosher salt
- Tomato sauce
- Heavy cream
- Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
Stuffing:
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 1 cup ricotta, whole milk
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- Grated zest of one lemon
- 1 tsp minced thyme leaves
- Take the eggplant and trim the stem. Cut the eggplant lengthwise using a mandolin. This should yield ¼ inch thick slices and you should get about 12 slices from one eggplant.
- Sprinkle kosher salt on both sides of the slices and place them in a colander. Let it stand for about an hour. Using paper towels, blot dry the slices.
- Take a large skillet and add about 1 inch oil into it. Heat it to about 360 degrees F.
- When the oil is hot enough, add 3-4 slices of eggplant and cook them for 4 minutes.
- Line a plate with paper towels and transfer the cooked slices onto the plate to drain. Repeat with the rest of the slices.
- Take a bowl and combine ricotta, bread crumbs lemon juice, zest, salt and thyme.
- Preheat oven to about 425 degrees F. Take a baking dish and put tomato sauce and cover the bottom of the dish with a thin layer.
- Take the eggplant slices and put a spoonful of stuffing at the end. Roll the slices and place it with the seam side facing the bottom of the dish. Add a tablespoon of cream over each of the eggplant roll. Bake in the oven until the eggplants are cooked and the sauce has darkened. This will take about 25 minutes.
- Garnish with Parmesan cheese and serve hot.
Source: http://www.alexandracooks.com/2011/09/29/eggplant-involtini/
