Eggplant Ricotta Rolls

I've been on a cooking kick with eggplant again. I love Eggplant Parmesean, but haven't eaten it in years and years... takes too long to make it, plus between the bread crumbs to coat it and the oil to fry it, the calorie count is just too much.

I had seen an eggplant recipe on the Cooking Channel.... very easy-- just wash and dry the eggplant, cut it length-wise into 1/4" slices, brush it with just a touch of oil, and cook the slices on a cookie-sheet in a 375-degree oven for 15-20 minutes. The eggplant slices get browned and soft, and you can fill them with whatever you want and roll them up.

So that's what I've been doing, every time I can get fresh eggplant at the supermarket. I have filled the eggplant slices with spinach and feta cheese, and I also made them with freshly cooked green beans rolled up inside. Yesterday, I filled the rolls with non-fat ricotta cheese. (Sure is a different consistency than the 'regular' ricotta, but once it was cooked, it tasted just fine.) Just a little bit of ricotta on each of the slices.... I rolled them up and fit them all snugly in a baking dish. Topped them off with some of Emeril's Marinara Sauce (delicious sauce in a jar, much quicker than making my own). Before baking them, I sprinkled them with a bit of shredded asiago cheese. Baked for about 20 minutes and they were delicious.

Well, I thought they were delicious. I asked my husband if he liked them and he said they were "Okay." (Translation: "I'm eating the eggplant rolls because they're here, but I'd rather be eating a pepperoni and cheese pizza.")