Eggplant Involtini with Ricotta, Mozzarella and Tomato

Not ever haven made anything involving eggplant before, I was pretty keen on trying this recipe. Monet was not keen on tasting it (something to do with her being tired me thinks!) but Lyndon thought it was really nice and I tend to agree with him. Give it a go, you will not be disappointed.

I must say here, that the Karen Martini book I have been using is simply wonderful. I think this is my ninth recipe of hers that I have tried and posted about on this blog!!

*Taken from the Karen Martini book 'Where The Heart Is'*

Ingredients

3 eggs

2 large eggplants (I used 1)

1/2 cup plain flour

300ml olive oil, for frying

250g ricotta

salt flakes and freshly ground pepper

3 tbs currants, soaked in red wine vinegar for 5 mins, then drained

1/2 cup (40 g) grated Parmesan

200 g mozzarella, cut into 1 cm-thick slices (I used grated)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (I did NOT add this)

2 cups (500 ml) tomato passata

2 sprigs flat-leaf parsley, chopped

50 g pine nuts, coarsely chopped

3 tbs coarse breadcrumbs

Method

In a small shallow bowl, lightly beat 2 eggs with 1 tbs water. Cut the eggplants lengthways into 1 cm-thick slices. Dust the eggplant slices with flour, then dip in the egg-wash. Heat oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over high heat. Cook eggplant slices for 1-2 minutes on each side or until golden. Drain well on kitchen paper.

In a medium bowl, mix ricotta with remaining egg. Season with salt and pepper. Add the drained currants and half the Parmesan and stir to combine. Spoon about 1 tbs of the ricotta mixture onto each eggplant slice. Add a stick of mozzarella and roll up tightly.

Preheat oven to 170C. Brush the base of a large ovenproof dish with 1 tbs of the extra virgin olive oil. Spread half of the tomato passata in the base of dish. Place the eggplant rolls on the tomato, seam-side down so they don't unroll. Drizzle with remaining oil (which I didn't do!), spoon over remaining passata and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan.

Combine parsley, pine nuts and breadcrumbs in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top. Cover with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for a further 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and gooey.

Serve with a mixed-leaf salad dressed with balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.