How To Make Eggplant Rollatini

Rollatini is a little like the love story of eggplant parm and lasagna. Typically rollatini is made by flouring and then frying thin slices of eggplant (like eggplant parm), which are then filled with a creamy ricotta cheese mixture (like lasagna). The resulting eggplant rolls are baked until tender in tomato sauce.

Rollatini is also a really great meal for those rare times when you might have a lasagna craving, but don’t want pasta. Par-baking the eggplant rather than frying it cuts down on the prep time considerably, making this a comforting weeknight favorite you can put together in no time.

Par-baking is a term generally reserved for bread baking and pie making. Rolls and loaves are partially baked before freezing, or pie crust is baked before filling. What does that have to do with eggplant rollatini, you ask?

Well, par-baking the eggplant slices instead of frying them makes them more pliable and easy to roll. It also give the eggplant a head start on cooking before it is filled rolled and covered in tomato sauce. Since the oven is already preheated for baking the rollatini, par-baking eliminates the mess and time that the traditional frying step of rollatini requires. Be sure to line your baking sheet with parchment paper or risk the slices sticking to the hot pan.

The filling for this rollatini is the standard combination of ricotta, seasoning, and egg that you find in lasagna, stuffed shells, and sometimes ravioli. Adding a package of thawed-and-drained spinach to the filling makes the rollatini sit up a little higher when baked. It also makes them more filling.

Thaw the frozen spinach by placing it in a microwave-safe bowl, covering it with plastic wrap, and microwaving on high for 2 minutes. Remove and drain in a colander while you assemble the rest of the ingredients. Before adding the spinach to the filling, press down on it in the colander with a few layers of paper towels. The drier the spinach is going into the filling, the better.