OMG YOU GUYS! This seriously is the most delicious thing - ever! It's surprisingly light, easy to make and the whole family will love it! My dad (who is a pasta fiend) said that he would prefer eggplant over lasagna sheets - so thats a WIN!
Serves 4
Ingredients:
450g ricotta
200g frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
1 onion – finely diced
1 egg
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Pinch of nutmeg
Salt and pepper
½ cup of grated parmesan cheese
4 large eggplants, sliced into thin strips lengthways
Sauce
2 400g cans of crushed tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Tbsp. of dried oregano
1 brown onion – diced
Half a small red chilli – chopped finely
Generous pinch of Salt and pepper
Pinch of sugar
10 basil leaves
Directions:
- Pre heat oven to 180 degrees.
- Defrost the spinach in the microwave and squeeze out any excess water. Place ricotta into a separate bowl and add spinach, egg, nutmeg, onion and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
- In a saucepan sauté the onion, garlic and chilli with a splash of oil until the onion becomes translucent. Pour the tomatoes, and place the oregano, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Leave this to simmer for 10-15 minutes before taking off heat.
- Slice the eggplants super thin - LENGTHWAYS! Sprinkle a small amount of salt on each eggplant slice. This draws out the bitterness.
- On a large baking dish, line with a splash of olive oil and cook each eggplant for 3 minutes on each side or until lightly brown. Ensure that the eggplant is soft before taking it off the heat.
- Once the eggplant is cooked, lay flat on a bench and scoop 1 tbsp of the ricotta mixture on one end of the eggplant.
- Roll towards the opposite end, once rolled up, place a toothpick in the middle to keep it together.
- Repeat with the rest of the eggplant and ricotta mixture.
- In a large baking dish, place some sauce at the bottom and along the edges so the eggplant does not stick to the bottom.
- Place the rolled eggplant into the dish and cover with the rest of the sauce.
- Lastly, sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top and cover with al foil.
- Place into the oven for 40 minutes.
- Take out and serve with rice or salad!
