Grilled Eggplant Involtini Recipe

grilled eggplant involtini in a square baking dish

Grilled Eggplant Involtini Recipe

Grilled Eggplant Involtini are grilled eggplant slices are rolled around a savory breadcrumb filling and cubed mozzarella to create the perfect appetizer or side dish for your summer gatherings!

Course antipasto, Side Dish

Cuisine Sicilian-Italian

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 35

Resting time 30

Servings involtini

Calories 114kcal

Author Nadia Fazio

Ingredients

1 large eggplant (about 1 ½ lb or 650 grams)
1 cup breadcrumbs from day old bread
1 large plum tomato seeded and diced
1 tablespoon Pecorino Romano cheese or Parmigiano
2 tablespoon parsley chopped
1 small garlic clove finely minced
⅛ teaspoon salt
½ cup mozzarella cubed (about 65 grams)
¼ cup olive oil for brushing eggplant slices and drizzling

Instructions

Prepare the eggplant

Slice eggplant lengthwise into ¼ inch slices. Place on a paper towel covered baking sheet and sprinkle with salt. Let rest for at least 30 minutes or up to an hour. Rinse the slices and pat dry.
Brush each side of the eggplant with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt. Grill 3-4 minutes on each side until tender and grill marks are present. Alternately, you can fry the eggplant slices or oven roast them until golden and tender. Set aside the end pieces to enjoy as is since they will be too short to fill and roll. Let the eggplant cool while you prepare the filling.

Prepare the filling

In a medium sized bowl, combine the crumb from day old bread torn into small pieces. You can also pulse the crumb in a food processor until it breaks down into coarse breadcrumbs. Add the grated cheese; plum tomato; parsley; garlic and salt. Add olive oil and stir to coat the filling. I like use my hands to bring the ingredients together.

Fill the grilled eggplant slices

Place a slice of eggplant on your work surface. Add a heaping tablespoonful of filling in the bottom third of the eggplant. Place a few mozzarella cubes on the filling. Carefully roll the eggplant over the filling and place seam side down on a greased 9 inch square baking dish. Continue with the remaining eggplant slices.
Bake in a preheated oven at 375F for 25 minutes until the involtini are heated through and the mozzarella is melted. Serve hot or warm

Notes

The eggplant slices can be fried or oven roasted instead of grilling.
Add 1or 2 finely chopped anchovy fillets in olive oil to the filling for extra flavor.
Top the filled involtini with tomato sauce before baking if you prefer.
Substitute caciocavallo or provolone cheese for the mozzarella in the filling.
Leftovers may be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Nutrition