Well, I don't have much knitting to report that is exciting since I have not been knitting prolifically lately (yes, there are lots of projects on the needles with only a little progress on each). That is what happens when you are knitting two blanket/afghans at the same time...you are constantly finishing blocks and squares without much of interest to report. So, for those of you interested in the food on this blog I will present my recipe for eggplant rolotini as I notice quite a few people find my blog with that as their Google search term.
The growing season is starting to wind down here in Virginia as the weather changes to distinctly fall. Eggplant sightings at the market are starting to become more uncommon, so I grabbed a big purple globe and headed home. This is a great dish for this transitional weather since I wait as long as possible to turn on the heat (like some people), I am always looking for an excuse to turn on the oven on a chilly, rainy day.
When I lived in Vermont we used to go to an Italian restaurant known as Papa Franks in Winooski. The portions were so generous that I never did get a chance to order the peanut butter pie with chocolate crust and drizzle but I have spent the past 9 years experimenting with this recipe to make this delicious dish at home. It has been so long since I have had the original that I can't tell you if this is anything like it but it is pretty darn good so I am sticking with it.
Eggplant Rollentini
Ingredients
1 large eggplant, sliced 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped very fine
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 cup (8 ounces) ricotta, part skim if you are concerned about calories and fat
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, fresh grated, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup part skim mozzarella, shredded
1 egg
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 350°F. (This does not count as turning on your heat and so does not effect any bragging rights you might have on how long you waited before turning on the heat)
- Mix ricotta cheese with Parmesan, egg, oregano, and about 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix well and spread out in an oiled 9-inch-square baking dish. (It will be spread pretty thin but don't worry there will be plenty of filling for one eggplant -- often too much.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until set and slightly browned on top. Remove and stir with a fork to break up ricotta mixture. Cover to keep warm and set aside. (Ricotta mixture can be made a day ahead and kept refrigerated, covered well.)
- Turn up oven to 450°F. Slice the eggplant in thin slices lengthwise. I use a mandolin slicer to make this easy and quick.
- Brush eggplant slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and thyme. Lay out on cookie sheets and roast for about 10 minutes or until tender and beginning to color. Remove and let cool enough to handle. It is probably a good idea to keep an eye on this rather than rely on a timer as I have overcooked them more than once but then my oven does run hot. They will take longer the thicker they are.
- Lay slices of eggplant down on clean work surface. Starting at widest end, place about 2 teaspoons to 2 tablespoons (depending on the width of your slices) of ricotta mixture near one end and roll up.
- Place eggplant rolls to baking dish with the seam-side down and repeat until all slices are rolled.
Top with shredded mozzarella, and fresh Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste. Turn oven up to broil and place rolotini in oven until the mozzarella has melted and begins to brown, about 5-10 minutes. 
- Serve with your favorite tomato sauce.
I topped this with my homemade tomato sauce and ate it before I even took a picture. I do have a picture here. Depending on how hungry you are (and what else you are serving) this makes 2-4 servings. The pre cooked and the cooked picture are actually two baking dishes so I had about 16 rolls.
Enjoy and I will try to find some knitting worthy of a picture ...maybe I'll show you my consolation yarn.
RECIpage
My favorite thing to teach is writing, and when asked in workshops on the subject of writing I always put myself in the camp that considers themselves writers (always a minority of the assembled group). But when writing for an audience other than my students or myself, I start to become overly conscious and perfectionist and freeze up. I often start a blog post and save it as a draft, never actually publishing it. They say that one of the best ways to improve writing is to write. So be kind and expect some things that are a little different as I try to come up with a blog entry every day of the week.
