I spent a large part of the holiday season home due to the fact that one of my dogs (Pip) had cancer surgery again. Since I had soooo much time on my hands I chose to spend it in my happy place…the kitchen! As you know I love to cook but in doing so I also lve to just play with food and see what happens. As a child my om always said “don’t play with your food” and of course she meant mucking around on my plate. However as the years went on I decided literally playing with food was fun. Dont kid yourself there has been more than one disastrous outcome but that just means I tweak it some more and try it again.
As a vegetarian I think that I test out many more ways to try certain foods verses when I ate meat it was generally the typical meat, potatoes and veg. Aside from the crock pot cooking meat dishes was to time consuming especially after work. And for the most part vegetarian meals often cook quickly, especially if prep is done the night before. I also typically cook meals that will freeze well and This recipe stemmed from me wanting to find something different to do with eggplant but not too heavy and filling.
These rolls were super simple to make and unbelievably tasty! The flavours that meld together was a pleasant surprise considering there really want much to them. Keep in mind that you can change it up to layer in what you like.
So here we go…..
Eggplant rolls
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- 2 zucchini
- 2 Roma tomatoes
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon oil
- Salt, pepper, and basil to taste
- 1 1/2 cup Cottage or Ricotta cheese
- Parmesan cheese
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- To prepare the eggplant cut into slices about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle salt on both sides and places slices on paper towel for about 10 minutes or so. Leaving it longer isn’t an issue if you get into the rest of the prep work.
- Then warm oil in fry pan and place slices in oil on low and cover to cook each side for approximately 4 minutes or until its cooked enough that its pliabl for later rolling.
- Remove from pan and place back onto paper towel to soak up excess oil.
- Cut zucchini into thin slices also and fry them the same way as the eggplant. And also drain on paper towel.
- In a seperate bowl mix diced tomato, cottage cheese, pepper, basil and breadcrumbs
- Once eggplant has cooked lay out the eggplant and place strips of zucchini on top.
- Place 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture on one end and roll up securely.
- Place rolls into a greased baking dish
- Sprinkle with Mozzarella cheese and Parmesan
- Bake in oven for about 15 minutes or until browned
Enjoy!
