Eggplant Rollatini

A little over five years ago, my sisters and I took our  spouses, children and their spouses out to dinner on the occasion of what would have been our father’s one hundredth birthday. We picked a family restaurant operated for generations by an Italian family in the West Village of New York City. Even though the guest of honor and our mother had been deceased for more than 20 years, the 20 of us in attendance for this memorable occasion had a great night!

We shared many memories that night and lots of good food. Stories and vino were plentiful, lots of laughter, some tears and a beautiful wedding picture of mom and dad from April 1944 served as the centerpiece for our table.

The woman who was giving us suggestions off the menu was the daughter of the founder and namesake of this restaurant. One of her recommendations was “Eggplant Rollatini“ one of her mothers specialties . My daughter was seated next to me and she nodded in my direction and said to the woman “this guy makes great Rollatini“ So…The gauntlet was thrown down. When the house specialty was  delivered, the founders daughter asked me what I thought, whose was better, mine or her mothers? With no hesitation I said her mothers was definitely better. After she left my daughter disagreed with that answer and said that mine was better. I smiled and thanked her for her vote and I told her that no one ever cooks better than your mother, especially if she is deceased.

Note: as is the case with the earlier posted Eggplant Parmesan recipe, preparation of this dish is a labor of love! Please refer back to the Eggplant Parmesan recipe and follow it up to the point where you are putting the cooked and breaded eggplant slices together in the casserole.

Ingredients for the filling

16 ounces fresh ricotta cheese
One extra large egg, beaten One cup Grated pecorino cheese
A quarter cup of flat Italian parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Note: that should be enough filling for two medium sized egg plants sliced and breaded. If you make more eggplant than that, or have a heavy hand with the filling, be prepared to go back to the market to pick up more ingredients for the filling.

Directions

Thoroughly mix all the ingredients for the filling in a large bowl. Using a tablespoon measure as a guide, place a Dollop of filling at the widest end of the eggplant slice and roll it all the way to the narrow ending. Spray a baking pan with sides with vegetable spray. Place each of the Rolls on the baking sheet with the loose and down. Once you have rolled all of the eggplant put a small amount of red tomato sauce on the top of each one. Bake in a 350° oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Buona Fortuna