| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 4 hr 55 min |
| Prep: | 40 min |
| Inactive: | 3 hr 15 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr |
| Yield: | 15 rollatini |
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds whole milk ricotta
- Olive oil, to coat pans
- 2 large eggplants
- 5 eggs
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- All-purpose flour, for dredging
- 2 packages (about 12 ounces per package) frozen spinach, thawed and strained
- 2 to 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 3/4 cup grated Romano or Parmesan
- 3 1/2 cups jarred tomato sauce
- 1/2 to 3/4 pound shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Spoon the ricotta into a fine strainer placed over a bowl in the refrigerator for several hours. Discard the excess liquid.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spread thin coating of olive oil on 3 baking or cookie sheet pans, or reuse the same pan several times.
- Wash the eggplants and cut the tips off. Put the flat end down onto the cutting board. Slice the eggplants lengthwise into 1/4-inch thick slices, to make about 15 slices. Beat 4 of the eggs. Add salt and pepper to season eggs. Coat each eggplant slice with flour, then dip into the beaten eggs, drain any excess egg mixture, and lay flat on baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. If you can’t cook all of the eggplant at once, bake them in batches. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Note: You can make the eggplant ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator.
- Combine spinach, ricotta, remaining egg, garlic, and 1/2 cup of the grated Romano or Parmesan in a bowl. Mix well. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Spoon 1 cup of tomato sauce onto the bottom of a small baking dish. Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling onto the wide end of each piece of eggplant. Then, roll up each piece and place into the baking dish.
- Top with remaining tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella, and remaining grated Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes, until the tomato sauce is bubbling and the filling is hot. Let them rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 15 servings |
| Calories | 271 |
| Total Fat | 17 g |
| Saturated Fat | 8 g |
| Carbohydrates | 14 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 6 g |
| Protein | 16 g |
| Cholesterol | 98 mg |
| Sodium | 649 mg |
Reviews
Absolutely amazing recipe! The only thing i did different was before I dredged the eggplant in flour, I first laid out the eggplant slices on a towel and sprinkled with salt, covered with another towel to get rid of excess water. The result was a firm rollatini that kept its shape.
We loved this!!
I made this eggplant rollatini recipes years ago for my grandson’s christening and I received rave reviews from everyone. One man told me it was the best he ever had and every time I saw him after that he would bring up how much he loved my eggplant rollatini. I followed the reciped exactly and had no problem with the eggplant sticking. I thought dusting with flour first followed by the egg wash seemed odd but it worked out beautifully. I loved this recipe and will be making it again this weekend for a crowd of people. Interested to see how this group of people will like it.
very easy to prepare, and tastes awesome! Would add a little basil to the filling next time.
It was hard to find an eggplant rollatini recipe, but this one was perfect, and very yummy!
I am not sure if you could perfect this recipe. I cut the recipe in half.. right down the middle and itworked perfectly. It was perfect.
As far as some comments on the sticking eggplant. I failed, ok, and dipped the eggplant in the egg first and the flour second. It still made a nice “crust”. I have no clue as to how this would stick either way. A little olive oli rub well into a generic baking pan .. mine lifted right off the pan.. tender.. with a little crisp and they rolled beautifly.
Loved this recipe. Because the eggplant is baked, it is less greasy than most eggplant dishes I usually make. However, I recommend using the baking sheets for the eggplant for easy transfer and cleanup. This dish was a big hit at the pot-luck I attended. Tastes great cold for breakfast, too!
I enjoyed this recipe. Make sure to use parchment paper to cook the eggplant. The eggplant in place of the noodles was really nice – guests wouldn’t even notice. I like being able to substitue a starch for a vegetable so I can still have my garlic bread. 🙂 This will be a definite regular in my collection.
Easy to make. No fuss at all. You can find all of the ingredients in one supermarket. Very nutritious and delicious. My kids and I had fun making them together!
I was a bit skeptical about this recipe. I’ve made eggplant rollantini for years and was looking for a recipe that did NOT include breadcrumbs. The disclaimer at the bottom of this recipe made me a little nervous. And, the order seemed odd to me: Flour eggplant, then egg, then bake??? I’ve never cooked anything with egg being the LAST step in the process. Usually, either breadcrumbs or flour follow the egg wash before the last stage of baking or frying. But, this is Mario Batali so who am I to question, right? Well, it didn’t work. The eggplant stuck to the pan. I used a heavy aluminum baking pan with olive oil as instructed and baked on the middle rack of the oven. Perhaps a non-stick pan would have made the difference. Maybe some restaurant recipies are best left to the restaurant! I’ll go back to my momma’s method.