Friday, March 18, 2011

Eggplant Manicotti

Hi readers! As promised, here is the recipe for the eggplant manicotti that I made for my dinner party on Wednesday.

Ingredients:

1lb ricotta cheese
1 cup asiago cheese
1/4 cup of parmesan
1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 bag of spinach (fresh, only 1/2 cup if you're using frozen)
3 eggs
2 medium unpeeled eggplants, cut into 1/3 inch thick slices
1 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Jar of marinara (I'm too lazy to make my own)

Directions:

2 hours ahead, drain the liquid out of the ricotta, let stand to drain.

















Preheat the oven to 350. Wilt the spinach on medium heat (takes about 2-3 minutes) with 1 tbsp of olive oil. If you are using frozen spinach, drain and press the spinach well to get out all of the moisture.

















Crack and scramble eggs in a bowl. Put the bread crumbs in a separate bowl.

















Hire a helper to cut up the eggplant for you ;)

































Dip the eggplant slices first in the egg, then in the breadcrumbs and place in a fry pan over medium eat, browning on each side (about 3-4 minutes on each side).

















While those are cooking, mix the ricotta, garlic and the asiago with the wilted spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste.

















Spread a thin layer of sauce in a 13x9 pan. Once the eggplant slices are finished, place 2 tbsps of the cheese mixture onto the narrow end and roll the eggplant up, placing seam side down into the baking dish.



































Pour the remaining sauce over the eggplant manicottis. Sprinkle mozzarella on top.

















Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

















*Note: If you want to make this a healthier recipe, instead of breading and frying the eggplant, bake in the oven with salt at 350 for about 12 minutes.

Have you ever cooked with eggplant? What is your favorite recipe?

12 comments:

  1. Yum! Veggie packed AND filled with cheese.

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  2. These look AWESOME! Thank you for the recipe. I don't cook with eggplant enough.

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  3. That looks delicious! I love that use of eggplant...great veggie recipe

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  4. Ive only used eggplant once and it didnt look quite as good as yours!!! I wish I was at your place for dinner instead of mine lol

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  5. LOVE the idea of Egglpant manicotti! I have GOT to try this out :)

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  6. That dish looks so good. I have never even tried eggplant. This dish looks like a delicious way to use it.

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  7. I'm all about the eggplant baby! Esp eggplant parm! You remind me that I need to strain ricotta!

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  8. This looks delicious. Dinner party! I'll bring the reisling!

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  9. Woo hoo--thanks for sharing! I starred this in my Google reader and can't wait to try it out. Was the eggplant hard to roll up or was it being a good eggplant?

    I like eggplant parm, stuffed eggplant with veggies and quinoa and I like cooking it then adding as a topping to my pizza.

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  10. It was delicious! Thanks again!

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  11. I love eggplant! My mother-in-law makes pickled eggplant relish that is awesome on sandwiches. I had some today, actually...

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  12. I have not cooked with eggplant yet, but I need to! Thanks for the recipe!

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