Eggplant Rollatini

In accordance with my 'eat healthy' challenge for this summer, I have another recipe that is light on fat and calories, and tasted much better than I anticipated.  I was concerned that the lack of oil or butter would really be obvious in this dish, but it truly was delicious and my husband declared, "it's a keeper!".  The prep time is about 15-20 minutes. Don't let these 'rollatini's' intimidate you.  Here is what you'll need:






2-3 medium eggplants
1 tsp olive oil
3-4 large garlic cloves
2 cups canned crushed tomatoes
4 Tbsp. basil
1/2 an onion, minced
1 medium potato, diced
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta-cheese
1/2 cut parsley, chopped
3 Tbsp. parmesan cheese
1 large egg
salt and pepper to taste
cooking spray

Start by baking the eggplant.  Preheat your over to 450 degrees.  Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Remove the tops and bottoms from your eggplants, and cut into 1/2" strips.  Layer the eggplants on the baking sheet and bake about 10 minutes per side, or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

While eggplant is in the oven, make sauce.  Place olive oil (only 1 tsp! I know it was hard for me to put so little, but you can do it!) in a medium saucepan on medium-high heat.  Add 2 large garlic cloves, chopped, and saute to brown (about 2 minutes).  Add crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Lower heat and add 2 Tbsp. torn basil. Let simmer on low for 10 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, make the filling.  Spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray (the no oil in the pan really killed me on this one, but it was fine! trust me!) and put on medium heat.  Add onion and potato; saute until they have browned and potato is soft.  This will take about 7-10 minutes.  Make sure to stir this so nothing burns.  Meanwhile, in a bowl combine ricotta, parsley, remaining basil, and 2 Tbsp. parmesan cheese and stir to combine.  Once onion mixture is cooked, add to cheese mixture and stir. Add 1 egg, salt and pepper, and stir to combine.

To make rollatin, reduce over to 400 degrees.  Spray an 8 x 8 glass baking dish with cooking spray, and put about 1/2 the sauce at the bottom and swirl to coat.  On a flat surface, spoon about 1-2 Tbsp. of filling at the narrow end of eggplant (I found only about 1 Tbsp fit neatly) and roll up.  Place in prepared baking dish seam side down.  Don't worry if some cheese sticks out of the side, this doesn't have to be perfect!  Repeat with remaining eggplant slices and arranged in a single layer in baking dish.  Spoon the rest of the sauce on top of the eggplant rollatinis, and sprinkle remaining parmesan cheese on top.  Bake for about 15 minutes, or until sauce bubbles.