Preheat the grill pan and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Place a rack over a large baking sheet. Cut the 2 ends off the eggplant. Cut the eggplants lengthwise, into 1/2-inch thick slices. Arrange eggplant slices onto rack. Sprinkle with sea salt to help remove excess moisture and any bitterness from the eggplants. Set aside for about 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse off the salt from the eggplants and pat dry with a towel. Spray hot grill pan liberally with vegetable spray and then place eggplant slices on the grill until lightly browned on each side and tender, about 4 minutes per side. Remove slices from the grill pan and allow to cool.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until lightly scrambled. Mix the ricotta in with the egg. Add mozzarella, 3 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts and gently combine. Fold in basil just to combine. Do not overmix.
Place a tablespoon of the cheese mixture on 1 end of the eggplant and roll up tightly. Place the eggplant rollatini into a greased (with olive oil) 13 by 9-inch baking dish, seam side down. Continue with remaining eggplant. Evenly distribute the tomato sauce on top of the eggplant rollatini. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with remaining 5 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and bake for 15 minutes. When cooked, drizzle the top with extra-virgin olive oil.
Simple Tomatoe Sauce
In a large casserole pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and bay leaves and simmer uncovered on low heat for 1 hour or until thick. Remove bay leaves and check for seasoning. If sauce still tastes acidic, add unsalted butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to round out the flavors.
Add 1/2 the tomato sauce into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth. Continue with remaining tomato sauce.
If not using all the sauce, allow it to cool completely and pour 1 to 2 cup portions into freezer plastic bags. This will freeze up to 6 months.
I made the mistake of slicing the eggplant into rounds, rather than lengthways, thus making it difficult to rollitini! Instead I turned it into a pasta-free lasagne, placing alternating layers of eggplant, tomato sauce and cheese sauce. I found the end result to have a little too much 'sauce', but there's no denying the flavour. It's quite a lengthy process, but if you've got the time then do have a go. I would, however, slightly reduce the amount of tomato & cheese sauce so the dish isn't too liquidy at the end.
This looks very Taste!! :)
Anne, there are plenty of free easy to use converters online such as www.onlineconversion.com
Giada De Laurentiis is obviously not Australian so surly you don't expect her to use Australian measurements??? I hope every little thing in life doesn't frustrate you this much.....
Why oh why is there not a metric version or at the very least side by side equivalents. It is not good enough to put an ability to convert per oz as you cannot print this. Very disappointed that this is not in each non metric recipe. I usually get frustrated and have to scribble all over the printed recipe and it is only an approximate too.
I made the mistake of slicing the eggplant into rounds, rather than lengthways, thus making it difficult to rollitini! Instead I turned it into a pasta-free lasagne, placing alternating layers of eggplant, tomato sauce and cheese sauce. I found the end result to have a little too much 'sauce', but there's no denying the flavour. It's quite a lengthy process, but if you've got the time then do have a go. I would, however, slightly reduce the amount of tomato & cheese sauce so the dish isn't too liquidy at the end.
This is fantastic & always get asked for the recipe
This looks very Taste!! :) Anne, there are plenty of free easy to use converters online such as www.onlineconversion.com Giada De Laurentiis is obviously not Australian so surly you don't expect her to use Australian measurements??? I hope every little thing in life doesn't frustrate you this much.....
Why oh why is there not a metric version or at the very least side by side equivalents. It is not good enough to put an ability to convert per oz as you cannot print this. Very disappointed that this is not in each non metric recipe. I usually get frustrated and have to scribble all over the printed recipe and it is only an approximate too.
I wish you would give how many serves in your recipes!
yum!!