Aubergine Rolls with Ricotta & Spinach

This Aubergine Rolls with Ricotta & Spinach dish is my new favourite dinner. They are honestly freakin’ delicious. I made it for my sister and her husband a few nights ago and it was an absolute hit.

I really love this as a healthy, warming vegetarian dinner option. To be honest anything that involves grilled cheese does it for me, but with the rich combination of flavours and aromatic basil as well – it is a very tasty meal. And fun to make too.

Aubergine Rolls with Ricotta & Spinach

(serves 4)

Ingredients

2 aubergine (or eggplant), cut lengthways into 1cm thick layers
Large bag of spinach
250g tub of ricotta
Large jar of tomato sauce
Handful of fresh Basil leaves
3/4 cup of Parmesan
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Dried mixed herbs

Method

1. First pre-heat oven to 200C. While the oven is pre-heating, slice the aubergine/eggplant lengthways. Lay them on a baking sheet on a large oven tray. Smear olive oil over both sides of the aubergine slices and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

2. When the over is pre-heated, bake the slices for 20 minutes, remembering to turn them over once.

3. While the aubergine is in the oven, wilt the spinach by placing it all in a colander, then pour over a pot of boiling water. It should shrink/wilt very quickly. The spinach soaks in a lot of water, so leave it to cool before squeezing out the liquid. This is the slightly tricky part! I found it best to literally scrunch the spinach with my hands to squeeze out the water – I had to do this several times.

4. In a large bowl, mix together the spinach and ricotta with a sprinkle of dried mixed herbs. This is the fun part where you just have to dig right in and get your hands really messy.

5. Take the aubergine out of the oven. At one end of each slice, place a large spoonful of the ricotta/spinach mix, and roll it up evenly.

6. In an oven-proof dish, place each roll down side-by-side (with the open side facing downwards). Place the basil leaves over the rolls before pouring over the jar of tomato evenly. Top with parmesan.