Eggplant is an awesome substitution for pasta because you can season it however you like and give your meal 10 times the flavor. It also contains a lot of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals (vitamins C, K, and B6, phosphorus, copper, thiamin, niacin, magnesium, and pantothenic acid), as opposed to the enriched nutrients in refined grain pastas. Our bodies do not process enriched nutrients as easily as we process natural nutrients so it is always better to rely on natural sources of these nutrients. If you have never tried substituting eggplant for pasta and are thinking it might not be appealing, I can assure you it is very similar to the texture of pasta when it is sliced thin and cooked. My husband was quite surprised how much he liked these even better then traditional pasta the first time I made them. These rollups are similar to manicotti as they have ricotta cheese inside them and a red sauce on top. If you like these you can experiment with eggplant in other ways such as using it as layers in lasagna. In my opinion eggplant is highly under-rated!
I did use a store bought red sauce for this recipe. Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing a store bought pasta sauce:
- Look for one with little to no added sugars (I have found a sauce with no added sugars)
- If you see soybean oil in it, put it down and don’t purchase that brand again!
- Check the sodium content…. companies are notorious for putting massive amounts of unnecessary salt in their tomato sauces. The one I used had around 300 mg per 1/2 cup which is in the middle of the spectrum. I have seen some sauces have as much as 700 mg per 1/2 cup! Yikes!
Fun Fact: Eggplant is actually a FRUIT!
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Eggplant Rollups
By Published: April 29, 2014
- Yield: about 16 rolls (4-5 Servings)
- Prep: 5 mins
- Cook: 40 mins
- Ready In: 45 mins
Eggplant is an awesome substitution for pasta because you can season it however you like and give your meal 10 times the flavor. It …
Ingredients
- 2 large eggplants
- 1/2 cup whole wheat white flour
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3 Tbsp olive oil plus extra for brushing
- garlic pepper grinder to taste
- 15 ounce container whole milk ricotta cheese I use Maggio brand, basic ingredients no additives. Highly recommended
- 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese I grate my own as the pre-grated and powdery kinds have additives
- 1/4 tsp onion salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1 jar tomato sauce
Instructions
- Thinly slice eggplant lengthwise. Do not worry about getting the slices perfect as when the eggplant is cooked it will not matter if there are some inconsistencies.
- Mix flour and salt and dredge eggplant slices in mixture.
- Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat with olive oil in pan. It is best to allow your pan time to heat up to get a nice brown coating on your eggplant. Once pan is heated brush one side of eggplant with olive oil and place that side down in the pan. Season eggplant in pan with garlic pepper grinder to taste. Allow each side to cook until lightly browned. Before flipping brush opposite side lightly with olive oil.
- Set cooked eggplant aside and mix ricotta, parmesan, garlic powder, and onion salt.
- Place a dollup of cheese mixture on the wider side of each slice of eggplant and roll toward thinner side.
- Place rolls in baking dish and pour a thin layer of sauce over rolls. I do go easy on the sauce as a little goes a long way with these. I only used about half a jar of sauce for the whole thing.
- Place in over and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until cheese is gooey and eggplant is slightly firmer.
Love it, love it, love it. Wasn’t difficult it is only where do you put all the stuff when you double the recipe. And you can do only that much in one skillet. But Dana, do you want my children? None of them liked it. But all the grown ups loved it. 🙁 🙂 Not sure what’s wrong with their taste butts. Exquisite!!!!!