Eggplant Involtini

It is the eggplant season around here. And honestly, I cannot imagine a better way to serve eggplant right now. Simply, roll roasted eggplant in ricotta cheese and then bake it in a homemade tomato sauce.

Seriously, how good does that sound!?

This recipe is a lighter and easier version of the classic Italian eggplant involtini dish. In the original version, you are supposed to fry the eggplant. In my version, I bake slices of it in the oven.

You know how some people ask you about your favorite things to get to know you? Like “what is your favorite book?” , ”what is your favorite food?”, “what is your favorite movie”, etc.
I can’t say that I like answering those types of questions, mainly because most of the time I do not have a readily available answer in my mind.

Don’t get me wrong. I do have an opinion about what I like. But when it comes to picking a “favorite”, I feel like I am being unfair to the other things I like.

That being said, when it comes to vegetables, things are a little different. I do have a “favorite”. A favorite, that stood the test of time even after years of cooking with a lot of other vegetables.

My favorite vegetable is eggplant. If I had my way, I could eat eggplants every day for the rest of my life. Bold statement from a person who claims she does not have “favorites”, right?!!??

When I saw the remake of Eggplant Involtini in this month’s Cooks Illustrated magazine, I couldn’t wait to go to the supermarket to get some eggplants so that I can make it right away. It came at a perfect time as I was looking for vegetarian dishes to share on the blog.

What does Involtini mean?

In Italian, Involtini means “little bundles”. And this dish is exactly that. Thinly sliced eggplants filled with a delicious ricotta cheese based filling, rolled into a bundle, and cooked in an easy-to-make tomato sauce.

After topping it off with freshly grated pecorino cheese and chopped fresh basil, to me, this dish represents the best flavors of the Italian Cuisine.

How to Make Eggplant Involtini?

The process of making eggplant involtini has 3 parts:

Slice and Bake Eggplant

1. Begin by getting all the ingredients ready. Pre-heat your oven to 375 F Degrees.

2. Peel the eggplants with a vegetable peeler. For this recipe, I would recommend shorter and wider eggplants to get the best results. Cut each eggplant lengthwise into 6 slices. Each slice should be about ½ inch thick. Trim the rounded ends so that they will lay flat.
3. Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray them generously with cooking spray. Place 6 eggplant slices on each baking sheet.
4. Start with the first baking sheet. Brush each eggplant slice with two and a half tablespoons of olive oil and season it with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Flip each slice and do the same thing for the other side.
5. Repeat the same process for the second baking sheet.
6. Place both sheets in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until they are tender and lightly browned. To ensure even baking, switch and rotate sheets half way through the baking process.

Make the filling

In the mean time, make the filling. Place 1 cup of homemade ricotta cheese (or full-fat supermarket ricotta cheese), ½ cup bread crumbs, ½ cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, ¼ cup chopped fresh basil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir until they are all combined.

To make the tomato sauce, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet (I used my 10-inch cast iron skillet). Add the 3 cloves of minced garlic, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon oregano, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Stir them with a wooden spatula and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and cook in medium-low heat, until it thickens. At the very end, add the rest of the chopped basil (1/2 cup), give it a large stir, cover, and set aside.

Assemble

When eggplants are baked, let them cool for 5 minutes. Do not turn the oven off. Heat the broiler.

Using a spatula, flip each slice over. With the widest side of the eggplant slices facing you, evenly distribute the ricotta mixture onto each slice. Starting from the widest end gently roll each piece and place it, seamed side down, in the pan with the tomato sauce.
Bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Allow it to cook for 5 minutes.

Place it in the oven and broil for 5 minutes for the eggplants to be browned and the cheese to cook thoroughly. To finish it up, sprinkle it with ¼ cup of grated Pecorino Romano and 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley. And serve.

Eggplant Involtini makes a great vegetarian main course. However, you can also serve it as a side dish next to your favorite meat dishes. Try it and you shall see.

Other Eggplant Recipes You Might Like:

• Eggplant Pomodoro Pasta
• Turkish Stuffed Eggplant
• Need more inspiration? Check out all our Vegetable Side Dishes

Eggplant Involtini Recipe

By Aysegul Sanford

Yields: 4 servings

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 40 mins

Total Time: 1 hr

This eggplant involtini recipe is made by rolling slices of oven-baked eggplant with basil-ricotta mixture and baking it in a homemade tomato sauce. Serve it as a vegetarian main course or as a side dish to accompany any meat dishes. Either way, it is easy-to-make and delicious.

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Ingredients

• ▢ 2 eggplants each approximately1 1/2 half lbs.*
• ▢ 5 +1 tablespoons olive oil divided
• ▢ 1 cup ricotta cheese preferably homemade
• ▢ 3/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese Or Parmesan cheese
• ▢ 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• ▢ 1/2 + 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped – divided
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
• ▢ Kosher Salt and Pepper
• ▢ 1 28 ounces can of diced tomatoes
• ▢ 3 cloves of garlic minced
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• ▢ Pinch of red pepper flakes

Instructions

To prepare eggplant:

• Pre-heat your oven to 375 F Degrees.
• Peel the eggplants. Cut them lengthwise into 6 slices. Each slice should be about 1/2 inch thick. Trim the rounded ends so that they will lay flat.
• Cover two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray them generously with cooking spray. Place 6 eggplant slices on each baking sheet.
• Start with the first baking sheet. Brush each eggplant slice with two and a half tablespoons of olive oil (you use the 2.5 tbs olive oil to brush all of the slices) and season it with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Flip each slice and do the same thing for the other side. Repeat the same process for the second baking sheet.
• Place both sheets in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until they are tender and lightly browned. To ensure even baking, switch and rotate sheets half way through the baking process.
• When eggplants are baked, let them cool for 5 minutes. Do not turn the oven off. Heat the broiler.

To make the filling:

• Place 1 cup of homemade ricotta cheese (or full-fat supermarket ricotta cheese), 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir until they are all combined. Set aside.

To make the tomato sauce:

• Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet (I used my 10-inch cast iron skillet).
• Add the garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, oregano, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Stir them with a wooden spatula and cook for 30 seconds.
• Stir in the tomatoes and cook in medium low heat, until it thickens.
• At the very end, add the rest of the chopped basil (1/2 cup),give it a large stir, cover, and set aside.

To assemble:

• Using a spatula, flip each slice over. With the widest side of the eggplant slices facing you, evenly distribute the ricotta mixture onto each slice. Starting from the widest end, gently roll each piece and place it, seamed side down, in the pan with the tomato sauce.
• Bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Allow it to cook for 5 minutes.
• Place it in the oven and broil for 5 minutes for the eggplants to be browned and the cheese to cook thoroughly.

To finish:

• Sprinkle it with 1/4 cup of grated Pecorino Romano and 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley.
• Serve.

Video

Notes

• When you are shopping for eggplants I recommend buying shorter and wider ones that are similar in size. I also recommend making sure that they are sliced around 1/2-inch thick, which should give you 5-6 slices per eggplant.
• The plate I used in the video is a 10-inch plate, but you can use any oven-proof dish or cast-iron skillet as well.
• If you watch the video, you will see that instead of cooking the rolled eggplant in the tomato sauce (as it is written in the recipe) I baked it in the oven. I think it is easier to make the oven do the work for you but either method would work.

Nutrition

Calories: 306kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 381mg | Potassium: 641mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 404IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 376mg | Iron: 2mg

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Italian

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Recipe adapted (with minor changes) from Cook’s Illustrated magazine, June 2014 edition.

This post was originally published in July 2014. It has been updated with new photos and helpful information in July 2016.