Vegan Eggplant Rollatini Recipe
My vegan eggplant rollatini recipe is a fun and delicious twist on the classic Italian involtini dish. Made by broiling strips of eggplant and filling it with a creamy potato and cashew "ricotta cheese", this dish is perfect for a cool, summer night! Top it off with my spicy, caper-flecked tomato sauce.
Without a doubt, eggplant is my favorite summer vegetable. I cook it at least once a week in the summer, much to my hubs displeasure, as he’s not a fan of eggplant at all. My kitchen, my rules, right?
I love trying out new recipes with eggplant while it’s in season like with my dan dan eggplant noodles, my eggplant zucchini veggie burger, or incorporated into a grain salad. Eggplant is simply a great vegetable that works well in a variety of dishes!
What is Involtini?
Involtini is an Italian word meaning “small bites of food” or “rolls” and it consists of an outer wrapping stuffed with a filling of some sort. Examples of involtini are wrappings of meat, vegetables, seafood or poultry, with fillings of cheese, vegetables, or nuts. Food stuffed with another type of food sounds pretty great, am I right?! The term rollatini is the same type of dish, but just an Americanized term that’s normally made with eggplant as the wrapping instead of meat, which is why I named this recipe, vegan eggplant rollatini. Many other rollatini recipes call for breading the eggplant, but I've found that I prefer it just broiled. Broiling the eggplant wrappings means less prep time and the texture is better in my opinion.
How to Make the Vegan Eggplant Rollatini Filling
Traditionally, eggplant involtini is filled with ricotta cheese. For this vegan version, I made a ricotta with potatoes and cashews. I've made tofu ricotta before, but I wanted a heartier dish. Plus, I didn't feel like cooking another starch. I had a little extra filling leftover, which we ate for a snack, but I bet it would be a really great topping for a flatbread topped with caramelized onions and olives. Carbs on carbs - always a winner in my book.
Let’s be honest, the filling is the best part of any food that is stuffed. While it may seem complicated to make a creamy, cheesy but vegan filling, it’s actually pretty simple! Start off by filling a medium sized pot with water, and bring the water to a boil. While you’re waiting for the water to boil, wash and dice the potatoes then add them to the pot of boiling water. Leave the potatoes in for about 10-15 minutes, or until they’re tender.
While the potatoes are cooking, use a small skillet to heat 1 tablespoon of oil on medium-high heat. Once it’s heated, add the onions and garlic to the pan and sauté them for about 3-5 minutes until they’re translucent. Then you’ll place the sautéed vegetables, cashews, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper into a food processor. The potatoes should be tender by this point, so you’ll need to drain them, then add them to the food processor as well. Blend the mixture, while slowly pouring in the vegetable broth, until your “ricotta cheese” is creamy and smooth! Taste it to make sure it’s amazing and feel free to add more salt, pepper, or nutritional yeast if needed. Easy, right?
Tips For Cooking With Eggplant
If I’ve learned one thing in all my years of cooking with eggplant, it’s that eggplant loves oil - its spongy texture soaks up endless amounts. Sauteeing, grilling and roasting all seem to go through half a bottle of olive oil. I have no problem with fats, but I do have a problem with using up half a cup of expensive olive oil. Recently, I learned broiling eggplant gives them a lovely charred flavor and moist creamy texture with very little to no oil. If you slice them, they just need a light spray of olive oil. I use my misto filled with olive oil to avoid the propellants in other oil sprays. You can also broil eggplant whole, a simple option if you're making an eggplant dip like baba ganoush or mixing it into a soup - anything where the shape doesn't matter.
Vegan Eggplant Rollatini Recipe
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
2 medium eggplants
4 cups potatoes, chopped large
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup cashews, soaked at least 2 hours
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 cup vegetable broth
Tomato Sauce:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons capers
Instructions
First, make the tomato sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium pot on medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook 1 minute. Add canned tomatoes, broth, basil, and red pepper flakes. Simmer about 10 minutes to let the flavors meld. Stir in capers, turn off heat, cover and set aside until ready to use.
Turn on the broiler. Slice the eggplant lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices. Place on 2 oiled baking sheets, being careful not to overlap. Spray with olive oil. Place under the broiler about 3-5 minutes per side until tender. Be careful not to let them burn, or they won't roll.
Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add diced potatoes and cook until tender, about 10-15 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooking, heat a tablespoon of oil in a small skillet on medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add the sauteed vegetables to a food processor. When the potatoes are done cooking, drain and add them as well, along with the cashews, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Blend, pouring in the broth slowly, until creamy and smooth. Taste and season with salt, pepper and more nutritional yeast if needed.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pour the tomato sauce at the bottom of a large baking dish, reserving 1 cup.
Scoop a small amount of the potato ricotta, about 1/4 cup, towards the end of each eggplant slice, then roll up. Place the eggplant roll, seamside down, in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining eggplant slices. Pour the reserved tomato sauce over the top. Place in the oven and bake 20-30 minutes until warm and bubbly.
If you like this vegan eggplant rollatini REcipe, you might also like these other recipes with eggplant:
Middle Eastern Eggplant and Wheat Berry Salad
Eggplant Zucchini Veggie Burger
Dan Dan Eggplant Noodles
