1 Cup of olive oil (enough to cover
well the bottom of a 13 inch skillet)
1 Normal sized eggplant, sliced lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices.
This should yield 6 or more slices.
1 Cup ricotta cheese.
1 Large egg.
2 Scallions, thinly sliced.
1/4 Tsp nutmeg.
2 Cups tomato sauce.
1/4 Cup cilantro.
Salt & pepper.
Directions:
In a 10 to 12 inch skillet, heat the olive oil to 370º. Add the eggplant 3 to 4 pieces at a time. Fry until light golden brown. I find that this will take 4 minutes a side. Just monitor the progress. Remove and lay on a paper towel to drain. Add salt & pepper as desired. The eggplant will be hot, so it has to cool before the next stage.
In a medium bowl, mix well the ricotta cheese, the egg, the scallions & the nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper.
Cover the bottom of two large ramekins (see picture) with tomato sauce.
Lay the slices of eggplant out and place 1 Tbsp of the cheese mixture on the base of each slice. Roll and place seam side down into the ramekin..
Bake in a 375º oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese starts to melt out of the rolls.
Sprinkle with cilantro and serve. Cover with parmesan, as you want.
Notes:
My younger son recently gave me a copy of Mario Batali's Molto Italiano cookbook, and this is from pages 20-21.
As the recipe says, it is very simple to make. One normal eggplant will produce 6 slices, enough for two servings. It should be between 3 1/2 and 4 inches in diameter. An eggplant of this size will yield 6 slices. Mario suggests that it is better to overcook the eggplant than to undercook it. I think he is right. Use your own judgment. When slicing the eggplant, make certain that the pieces you fry have the skin removed from both sides. Otherwise, it may be difficult to roll. Slice a piece from both sides and begin from there.
I did not do it the first time, but the second time, I added abundant garlic to the oil before frying the eggplant. Reseason the fried eggplant with salt & pepper before rolling it. It makes a distinct difference.
The first time, I followed the recipe for making the filling. The second time, I used perhaps 2/3 cup ricotta, but added 1/3 cup of Italian bread crumbs. In place of mixing the scallions into the cheese mixture, I just placed them over the eggplant before rolling them up.
With these modifications, the result was noticeably more rich & tasty.
I did not have the elegant baking dish Mario had (See the "Ingredients" picture), so I used the smaller ramekin-like individual dishes pictured.
I can understand why Mario looks as healthy as he does. This could be a dangerous book.