If you can still buy local aubergines (or eggplants), I think aubergine rollatini makes a beautiful autumn dish—perfect echoes of summer and a comforting food for colder evenings. They should be firm and shiny – don’t buy dull aubergines – they’ve been hanging around for too long.
Climate change means that many vegetables now have an extended season. For us, aubergines are most certainly still in the shops. My plants are on their third crop. 😁 Ditto the basil plants, which look healthier now than they did mid-summer.
The Secret is the Soffritto and the Home-Made Tomato Sauce
Hands up – this recipe is probably a little fussier than most, but hopefully worth the extra time. Investing in the soffritto to conjure up your tomato sauce does make a difference. We also use three different types of cheeses, add some optional pancetta and create a lemon zest and breadcrumb topping. A terrific starter or main course – especially as you can make it in advance.
Shiny Italian Aubergines ….
Use large, fairly long Italian aubergines. You could also use the beautiful graffiti (stripy purple and white) or the very delicious but rare white aubergine. A good, sharp knife is essential for making a clean cut and ensuring uniform, thin slices. It is important to salt and leave the aubergine to drain, rinse and thoroughly dry. I grill them in a griddle pan with a whisker of olive oil, but you can also brush them with olive oil and bake them in the oven.
Italian Food Mill
Your first job is to slice the aubergines, salt them and leave them to drain. While this is happening, you can make tomato sauce. Leave a half a finely chopped onion, a finely chopped celery rib, a grated carrot, and if you have one in the fridge, a finely sliced small sweet red pepper, to sweat in some olive oil. When soft, add the fresh tomatoes (you can also use tinned ones), grated garlic and parsley. When everything is thoroughly soft and cooked, check for seasoning. You may need to add a couple of teaspoons of tomato puree, a dash of oil, and/or salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a little longer and check again.
When you are happy, pass the tomatoes through a ‘mouli’ or Italian food mill. The advantage of the food mill is that you don’t need to peel the tomatoes, with the added benefit of extracting flavour from the skin. It also makes for a perfect, silky-smooth tomato sauce – ideal for this dish. If using a stick blender, you should peel the tomatoes.😉
Three Cheeses and Optional Prosciutto
Cover the base of your baking dish with the sauce. You need enough to come around halfway up the rolled aubergines. If you are good at multi-tasking, rinse, dry, and grill your aubergine slices, then leave them to cool while you cook the sauce.
Lay the aubergine slices and cover with a thin layer of ricotta (I also use anthotiro or mizithra – Greek soft cheeses similar to ricotta). Tear the mozzarella into thin strips and place them on top of the ricotta, together with a small sprinkle of parmesan. For added deliciousness and a non-vegetarian option, you can top the cheese with a slice of prosciutto.
Roll the aubergine, placing it end down in the baking dish with the tomato sauce. Continue rolling until all the aubergine slices are tightly packed into the baking dish. Top with the parmesan & lemon breadcrumbs, and bake on the middle shelf for about 30 minutes.
Just before serving, sprinkle with plenty of fresh basil.
Aubergine Rollatini
Ingredients
- 2-3 aubergines you can get 3-5 rolls out of each aubergine. See notes.
- 1-2 mozzarella – shredded
- 300 g ricotta
- 12 slices approx prosciutto optional
- 150 g parmesan – finely grated
- 400 g fresh tomatoes – roughly chopped or tinned equivalent
- 1 carrot – grated
- 1 small onion – finely chopped
- 1 rib celery (finely sliced including leaves) or bunch of parsely (roughly chopped)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp concentrated tomato paste
- 1 tsp chilli flakes or small fresh chilli optional
- fresh basil leaves (save some for serving)
- 2 cloves garlic – roughly chopped
- 1 handful breadcrumbs
- 1 lemon lemon zested – 2 tsp
- olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Finely slice the aubergines (lengthways). Sprinkle with salt and set aside while you make the tomato sauce. Preheat the oven to 180 °C
- In a large saucepan, over medium heat, sauté the onion, celery (or parsley) and one clove of garlic. Add the bay leaf and the chilli (if using). When soft and golden, add the tomatoes. Add a splash of wine and cook until the vegetables are tender and soft. Taste for seasoning and add the concentrated tomato paste (if needed), salt and pepper. Bring back to a quick boil. Either pass through an Italian food mill, sieve or blend with a stick blender. Add a little water/stock if the sauce is too thick and set it aside. If you choose the stick blender, you will need to remove the tomato skins and any tough core.
- Whizz 50g of the parmesan with the breadcrumbs, garlic clove and lemon rind.
- Dust the salt off the aubergines and dry them with a paper towel. Either roast them on lined baking sheets, drizzled with olive oil. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, turning and flipping halfway through. Alternatively, drizzle the aubergines with olive oil and grill them on a griddle pan, again turning halfway through. Cook until soft.
- Mix a teaspoon of lemon zest, a generous grating of black pepper and the remaining Parmesan with the ricotta. Spread each aubergine with a couple of teaspoons of the ricotta mix. If using, lay a slice of prosciutto on top. Roll the aubergine slice and place it in the baking tray with the 'seam' facing down.
- Continue with all the aubergine slices. Ideally they should fit into your baking tray nice and snuggly.
- Pour the tomato sauce around the rolls – it should come about half way up. Tuck in a few basil leaves.
- Sprinkle the whole thing with the Parmesan and lemon breadcrumbs, and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the tomato sauce begins to caramelise around the edges of the dish.
Reader Interactions