Bobby Flay is always up for a challenge: He has filmed more than 500 episodes of his competition show Beat Bobby Flay, and after facing off against some of the country’s best chefs — and trying to one-up them on their own signature dishes — he now has a lot of recipes and tricks in his arsenal. In his latest cookbook you’ll find many of his winning recipes, along with plenty from the chefs who beat him. “Some of the recipes are memorable for being challenging, some for being surprising and some for giving me the opportunity to cook with my favorite ingredients alongside good friends and some of the best chefs in the business,” he says. These eggplant rollatini are a perfect example: He made the dish during season 18 in a battle with chef and cheese guru Tracey Shepos Cenami, and he won with the help of his anchovy panko breadcrumbs. Try them yourself!
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Active: | 40 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings, plus 1 cup of anchovy breadcrumbs |
Ingredients
- 3 medium eggplants, cut lengthwise into twelve 1/2-inch-thick slices
- 8 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 medium Spanish onion, finely diced
- 5 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 28-ounce can peeled whole tomatoes, undrained
- 1 to 2 tablespoons Calabrian chile paste, to taste
- 12 fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces, plus more (optional) for serving
- 16 ounces whole-milk ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small dice
- 3/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano
- 4 ounces low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella, coarsely grated
- Anchovy Breadcrumbs (recipe follows), for serving
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 oil-packed anchovy fillets, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, mashed to a paste with 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.
- Arrange the eggplant in an even layer on two sheet pans. Brush both sides with 6 tablespoons of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast until lightly golden brown and very tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. (The eggplant can be cooked up to 1 day in advance, cooled and stored, covered, in the refrigerator.) Reduce the oven temperature to 375˚ F.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce: Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the tomatoes with their juices and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook until the tomatoes begin to soften, about 10 minutes. Crush the tomatoes with a potato masher. Add the chile paste and basil and cook the sauce until it thickens, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Make the filling: Mix together the ricotta, egg, diced mozzarella and 1/4 cup of the Pecorino in a medium bowl until combined. Season with salt and pepper and fold in the parsley and oregano.
- Ladle 1 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Spread 2 tablespoons of the cheese filling over each eggplant slice. Carefully roll up and place them, seam-side down, in the baking dish. Once all the eggplant rolls are in the dish, ladle another cup of the sauce evenly over them and sprinkle the grated mozzarella and remaining 1/2 cup Pecorino over the top.
- Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese has melted and turned lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top and garnish with torn basil, if desired.
- Heat the oil in a medium skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add the anchovies and cook until dissolved, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
- Add the panko and spread into an even layer. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip the crumbs, press them into an even layer again and cook until the bottom is golden brown, about 3 minutes longer. Add the lemon zest and season with pepper and more salt, if desired.
- Spread on a large plate or sheet pan and let cool. Store, tightly covered, in a cool, dry place for 1 day, or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Re-crisp in a dry skillet over low heat before using.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1140 |
| Total Fat | 84 g |
| Saturated Fat | 29 g |
| Carbohydrates | 58 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 19 g |
| Sugar | 23 g |
| Protein | 47 g |
| Cholesterol | 188 mg |
| Sodium | 2218 mg |
Reviews
There are not enough words for how good this is. I almost left off the anchovy crumbs….. don’t do that! Delicious as presented
I thought this dish was just ok. The tomato sauce was good, but the filling needed a bit more flavor for me…salt maybe? But when all was said and done, it was just a pile of mush to me. Maybe I can finally admit that I just don’t like eggplant unless it is breaded and fried. I’ll stick to eating it that way from now on.
When the dish is prepared Can I freeze before or after cooking it
I made this tonight – it was delicious!! I actually didn’t make the anchovy breadcrumbs (because I realized too late I had no anchovies left) but it turned out really good. Thanks Bobby!
Just made your recipe, Bobby – figured it would be a show stopper considering it’s a preview of your new cookbook. Marinara sauce and eggplant rollatini – exquisite. The breadcrumbs however – really disappointing. I suspected these were being cooked in way too much oil, but in honor of following the recipe, I used the full 1/3 cup and by the end of it, my crumbs were sadly absolutely saturated in oil (with extra even pooling underneath). Not to mention that you asked us to cook the anchovies and breadcrumbs over HIGH heat! High heat did not allow the anchovies to dissolve – they allowed them to instantly char up into hard little rocks – as did the garlic, as did the instantly burnt breadcrumbs. Your cook times are also no where near correct at that heat. With some major tweaks, these breadcrumbs would be delicious – but this is certainly not a thoroughly revised recipe. And that’s why I won’t be purchasing your cookbook. Sloppy.