Eggplant rolatini, deconstructed

Eggplant Rollatini, deconstructed

Between the cold and snow, cranky kids and Brett being away – last week was feeling like a long one. How that happens when you only log 3 days of work, I don’t know – but there you are anyway.

When the weeknight crazies start to get to me I change the circumstances. Do something different and fun. I decided that we had earned a movie-dinner. As a general rule – we eat dinner at the dinning room table, not in front of the TV. Sometimes though, for sporting events or pizza night or something, I set up the kids little folding chairs around the coffee table and we pile around the TV for dinner. Thursday night called for such a drastic event. I made the kids quesadillas (because they’re not messy) with flax seeds and tofu “hidden” inside (I ended up pulling out all of Bodie’s tofu) and popped in Cars (somehow that movie never gets old). The results, everyone relaxed and enjoyed the evening…mission accomplished!

Where this recipe came from

I though I deserved a treat as well, so I wanted something comforting and yummy. I had an eggplant in the fridge and since we had calzones the previous weekend, I decided to pull together one of my favorite restaurant meals…eggplant rollatini (I know, I’m wild!). I’m not actually sure if I had the correct ingredients, and I definitely didn’t assemble this in the right way – but I threw together what I had and it was AMAZING!

Making the recipe

This was definitely a make it up as you go situation, but it was super easy. I layered everything in a baking dish and popped it in the oven. Instead of separately cooking eggplant and then doing a lot of cheese and eggplant layering, I tried mixing the breadcrumbs with the cheeses and using that as a topping. So easy and so good!

The results

Bodie wouldn’t go near this and Adela had one bite. I thought it was delicious…I would definitely make this again!

The recipe

1 eggplant, sliced horizontally into ½ inch slices (I left the skin on)

½ cup tomato sauce

½ cup grape tomatoes

Olive oil and balsamic vinegar for drizzling

Salt and pepper

2 cloves garlic

½ cup whole wheat bread crumbs

½ cup part skim ricotta cheese

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Spread the tomato sauce to cover the bottom of a square baking dish. Top with a layer of eggplant slices and drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining eggplant (My eggplant fit into two layers) and top with tomatoes. (I used what I had - but you could dice a regular tomato or used a drained can of tomatoes.)

In a medium size bowl, mix garlic, ricotta cheese and breadcrumbs. Spread over the eggplant and top with mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 25 minutes.