Eggplant Involtini

Italian food has to be by far my most favorite cuisine  Next summer I will be traveling to Florence, Italy and I will be taking a few cooking classes. I am so excited to improve my skills in the kitchen and learn the way Italians create yummy dishes! Until then I will keep creating recipes with what I know to be Italian cuisine.

I will eat just about anything with a delicious tomato sauce on it. I recently saw some images of Involtini on my favorite food blog website http://www.tastespotting.com but I had never eaten it before. According to About.com "Involtini is an Italian word for a small bite of food consisting of some sort of outer layer wrapped around a filling." I decided to make my Involtni with a lasagna style filling wrapped in eggplant. I could not decide on one type of filling so I made two! 

Officailly added to my wish list!! 

If you have a mandolin this is way easier. I don't own one yet so I very carefully cut thin slices of eggplant. It is not a simple task and it can be a pain so buy a back up eggplant so you can have plenty of slices for your Involtini make plenty of wraps.

Fixins:

1 large eggplant, sliced VERY thin

2 cups of pasta sauce, separated

olive oil

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

Filling 1 - Olive & Capers

1/3 cup diced Mediteranean olives

1 tbs capers

1/2 cup ricotta

a sprinkle of cracked pepper

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl.

Filling 2 - Shrooms

1 cup mushrooms, 

1 garlic clove

a sprinkle of basil 

a sprinkle of red pepper flakes

Place all ingredients in a food processor until mushrooms are finely chopped. Then add:

1/2 cup ricotta and mix into a small bowl. 

Preheat the broiler to high. Brush olive oil on each side of the eggplant slices and place on a baking sheet. Broil on high on the middle rack for about 7 minutes on each side. Remove from the oven and set let cool. 

Preheat the oven to 350. Using a spoon place the filling of your choice on the larger side of the eggplant and carefully roll up into individual wraps. Spread the pasta sauce in the bottom of a baking pan and place the roll into the baking pan. Sprinkle the Parmesan over top each roll and bake for 20 minutes. 

Carefully remove each roll from the baking pan and serve with a drizzle of the pasta sauce on each one. Enjoy!! 

Notes: If you prefer one filling over the other just double the ingredients and you will have plenty.

If you have some messups from slicing the eggplant, set it aside and use any leftover filling and pasta sauce to make a mini pastalesss lasagna.