eggplant rollatini

My first Eggplant Rollatini. So proud.

The other day, I was browsing my friend Sheryl's blog, *Bitch Cakes*: A Neurotic Glamour Girl's WW Experience and Fitness Adventures, and found a great recipe for eggplant rollatini. I never considered actually making this dish -- just ordering it at an Italian restaurant. As soon as I saw how possible it was, thanks to the magic of Sheryl's pictures, I was up the street buying an eggplant, some tofu and some baby spinach. I altered the recipe a bit, replacing the ricotta with a tofu/spinach mixture I concocted. (Or did I find the recipe on a blog?) Anyway, you'd swear this tofu "ricotta" is the real thing, except for it being much easier to digest.



Eggplant Rollatini

1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise
olive oil
black pepper
oregano
1 package tofu
1 package baby spinach
tomato sauce


You'll also need a food processor, 2 pizza pans, a Pyrex dish, and a good hour to devote to making this recipe. The results are totally worth it. Serves 4.

Fundamental Order of Operations

1. Slice the eggplant lengthwise. Place slices with a little olive oil on pizza pans. Roast in oven at 400 degrees until soft.
2. Cut tofu block in half, boil in water.
3. Place spinach in colander.
4. When tofu has come to a boil, pour water and tofu into colander, blanching the spinach.
5. Put in spinach and tofu together in food processor in small batches. Blend until creamy. It really does get creamy! If you want to be clever, add some roasted garlic here or some sundried tomato paste.
6. Place tofu "ricotta" on eggplant slices and get rolling!
7. Add some tomato sauce, oregano, olive oil and black pepper to bottom of a pyrex dish.
8. Lay in the eggplant rollatini, single layer.
9. Cover with sauce and more black pepper and oregano.
10. Bake uncovered in oven for 20 minutes.
11. Eat! I served this with Italian lentils. Very delicious.
    

It was like rolling up sushi! Very easy. I was lucky that the eggplant
didn't stick to the pan because I didn't use much oil. This was the first pan.


Adding the rollatini into the Pyrex dish with sauce on the bottom.


The second pan. More rolling to do.


2 pans of roasted eggplant slices filled this Pyrex. I had 10.5 rollatini.


After I pulled it out of the oven and served 4 pieces. Done!


Italian lentils made with lots of veggies, tomato sauce, hot pepper, and fennel seed.