Did it ever happen to you that you want to eat something new but you don’t know what? Well, that happened to me the other day. I looked into the caverns of my fridge and found two poor zucchinis and one big eggplant screaming at me, “WE NEED TO BE EATEN AND SOON!”. So I came up with the idea to create a vessel to rescue my poor vegetables. I based this tasty eggplant recipe on one of my favorite dishes called Rollatini. If you are looking for a vegetarian recipe that tastes great, this is it.

Eggplant Canoes

by Melanie Dompierre

Quantity for: 6 people

PREP TIME30 minutes mins

COOK TIME1 hour hr

TOTAL TIME1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

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Try this fresh take on a classical Rollatini recipe. It is delicious, full of nutrients, and looks great on a dinner table. Eggplant canoes are best served with pasta and a glass of nice red wine.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp dry oregano
• 1 tbsp dry basil
• 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
• 6 leaves fresh basil
• 1 yellow onion (diced)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 500 g cottage cheese
• 1 eggplant
• 2 zucchinis (grated)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bottle (700 g) tomato Passata (or your own spaghetti sauce)

Instructions

Eggplant Canoes

• Set your oven at 375°F and place the grill at the middle position.
• Cut your eggplant in two (lengthwise) and carve out the flesh from the interior. Cut the interior in cubes and set it aside for now.
• Drizzle some olive oil on the eggplant halves. Season with salt and pepper and place the eggplants on a baking sheet with parchment paper into the oven for 10 minutes.
  

Cheese Mix

• While the eggplants are cooking, prepare the cheese mix. In a skillet on a medium fire, pour the vegetable oil, add the diced onions, the chopped garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until slight coloration of the onions.
• Add the grated zucchinis and the interior of the eggplants and cook for 5 minutes.
• Add the cottage cheese, dry basil, dry oregano, and set aside.
  

Assembly

• Take the eggplant canoes out of the oven and stuff them with the cottage cheese mix.
• Pour the tomato passata on top. You may add a little bit of cold water into the bottle to use all the passata.
• Add the fresh basil leaves, sprinkle the breadcrumbs on it and finish by covering it with the Parmigiano-Reggiano.
• Baked uncovered for 45 minutes. Serve with pasta of your choice and a nice glass of vino!
  

Notes

If you make this recipe ..... tag me @mel4skilletsandgames on Instagram and hashtag it #skilletsandpots. 

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: basil, cheese, comfort, cottage cheese, Creuset, eggplant, homemade, melanzane, rollatini, tomato sauce