Eggplant Involtini by Lalia Dattagupta
During these trying times of Covid Lockdown, we are all looking for simple recipes that satiate our taste-buds too. Eggplant Involtini is surely one such recipe. It takes a little time and patience to roll the eggplants – but the effort gets compensated by the fact that you do not need to arrange for too many ingredients. This cheesy eggplant dish would probably be welcomed by people who generally avoid eating eggplant otherwise.
Lalia Dattagupta is the Sole Proprietor of Sanskriti Kolkata, a fashion house of fusion and ethnic wear. Her creativity can be seen even in the culinary sphere.
Ingredients:
- Eggplants/Aubergine/Brinjals
- Olive oil
- Tomato Sauce (Store bought or make your own! How? Scroll below.)
- Cheeses — Ricotta cheese or cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, Mozzarella Cheese
- parsley
- basil
- chilli flakes
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper
- garlic, finely chopped
Method:
- Choose eggplants that are longish in size and shape.
- Slice them thinly vertically.
- Heat olive oil in a pan. Smear some salt and pepper on the eggplant slices and shallow fry them lightly.
- Now to a mix of ricotta cheese or cottage cheese and parmesan cheese with the following — parsley, basil, (any herb of your choice actually) chilli flakes, 1egg and salt. If you like garlic, you may add finely chopped ones here too.
- Take a little bit of this above mixture, place it in on a slice of fried eggplant and roll tightly. Repeat with each slice until all are done.
- Now brush your baking tray with olive oil, and layer with tomato sauce (if you don’t want to use store bought one, you may simmer tomato, onion, garlic with choice of seasonings till it reaches a sauce like consistency).
- On the layer of tomato sauce place all the filled in eggplant rolls. Top with grated mozzarella cheese.
- Now bake at 365 F for about 15-20 minutes. Check if done. The sauce around the baking dish should brown, and so should the rolls. Serve.