Eggplant Involtini

Eggplant wrapped around mozzarella or ricotta cheese is what I used to think of whenever I made eggplant involtini. But after my week of cooking at the Anna Tasca Lanza cooking school in Sicily, where I learned to make this unusual and delicious dish of pasta snuggled inside eggplant slices, you can bet that this version will be in regular rotation in our house.

It’s one of those dishes that wows with its unusual looks, tastes fabulous and can be made in advance. Who could ask for more?

Start by frying some sliced eggplant in oil, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Cook some angel hair pasta and toss with tomato sauce and grated parmesan cheese. Make sure it’s very al dente, since it will cook further in the oven.

Now place some of that pasta on top of an eggplant slice.

Then roll the slice of eggplant around the pasta. Don’t worry if the pasta peeks through holes in the eggplant. It’s all going to get covered in sauce.

Place the rolls seamside down into an ovenproof pan. Cover with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese.

Bake in the oven and top with more parmesan cheese (or ricotta salata) before serving. Serve one involtino as a first course, or two as a main course.

The eggplant involtini were just one of four courses we ate each night, after prepping and cooking everything under chef Michael’s guidance. Some things were already prepared, like the cured olives and artichokes sott’olio we enjoyed with some bubbly from the nearby winery one night.

The ingredients for nearly everything we consumed were grown on the property, or nearby, including the olives, artichokes, lemons, bergamot, almonds, pistachios, lettuces and fennel.

lentil plants

Wild fennel was in season, so it was abundant at this time of year and we ate it raw in salads and cooked in frittatas.

Bergamot was sliced thinly into salad and tasted nothing like a lemon, which it resembles, but was much sweeter, even the fleshy white part.

Pamela (a charming young woman from England, and the only other participant the week I was there) and I sat down to dinner each night at the large kitchen table to share the fruits of our labors with owner Fabrizia, her husband, chef Michael, gardener Hans, office manager Henna and others who were passing through.

Together with the delicious food, conversation flowed along with the perfectly paired wines from Tenuta Regaleali, the winery on the property. Stay tuned for more about that in further posts.

Eggplant Involtini

Author: Fabrizia Lanza

Serves: Serves 10 (2 per person)

printable recipe here

Ingredients

• 5 large eggplants
• vegetable oil for frying
• 2-3 cups (500-750 ml) good quality well-seasoned tomato sauce (not tomato puree)
• 12 oz. (300 grams) angel hair pasta
• parmesan cheese, finely grated
• ricotta salata (optional)
• fresh basil, mint, or oregano
• olive oil

Instructions

1. Slice eggplants about 1/2 inch think.
2. Deep fry in a large pan of oil, flipping halfway through, until deep golden.
3. Drain on paper towels.
4. Cook angel hair pasta in well salted boiling water for 1 minute (must be very al dente because if will cook further in the oven).
5. Toss with plenty of tomato sauce and grated Parmesan.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Cover the bottom of a large, ceramic baking pan with more tomato sauce and some olive oil.
8. Take one eggplant slice and place a small bunch of pasta in the middle and roll up.
9. Place in pan seaside down and repeat with remaining eggplants and pasta, packing rolls snugly into pan.
10. Cover with more tomato sauce and Parmesan.
11. Tuck leaves of fresh herbs between the rolls
12. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until cheese is melted and everything is warm.
13. Optional: Top with more grated Parmesan or ricotta salata cheese.

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