Eggplant Involtini (Eggplant roll-ups with angel hair and marinara)
Eggplant is a dinnertime staple on the southern Italian island of Sicily, where the vegetable is known as melanzane and might appear as involtini (rolled up with a filling) or caponata (the sweet-and-sour cooked vegetable salad). These are both first courses, but with a little tweaking, you can make them substantial enough for the main event. We fell for the dishes at the Anna Tasca Lanza cooking school in Sicily, where the late founder’s daughter, Fabrizia, teaches them. For the involtini, you wrap thin slices of roasted eggplant around bundles of angel hair, then top them with a quick homemade marinara and Parmesan.
MARINARA
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cans (28 ounces each) whole peeled tomatoes with their juices, crushed in a bowl
Salt and pepper, to taste
EGGPLANT
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 large eggplants, two thinly sliced lengthwise into 16 pieces, one cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 ounces dried angel hair pasta
1 cup grated Parmesan
8 sprigs fresh oregano, cut in half
MARINARA
1. In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the tomato paste.
2. Add the tomatoes and their juices, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper, if you like. Set aside 2 cups marinara for the flatbread.
EGGPLANT
1. Set the oven at 400 degrees. Have on hand a 9-by-13-inch baking dish and 3 rimmed baking sheets. Rub the sheets with some of the olive oil. Lay the sliced eggplant in a single layer on 2 baking sheets. Brush with more oil. Lay the cubed eggplant on the other baking sheet. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the cubes; toss with the remaining oil. Bake both sheets for 20 to 25 minutes or until the eggplant is cooked through. Set the cubed eggplant aside for the flatbread.
2. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
3. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 4 minutes or until it is tender but still has some bite. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add 1/2 cup marinara sauce and 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Toss gently.
4. Spread a layer of marinara in the baking dish.
5. Take a handful of the angel hair and set it in center of an eggplant slice. Carefully roll the eggplant around the pasta. Add an oregano sprig. Place seams down in the dish. Repeat with the remaining eggplant and pasta, setting them close together. Spoon about 1 cup of marinara over the involtini and top with the remaining Parmesan.
6. Bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes or until they are hot.
Adapted from the Anna Tasca Lanza cooking school.
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