A recipe to try - involtini di melanzane
"Involtini generally refers to something rolled up in thin strips of something else, in this case aubergine." Riverford Organic Farmers
Yesterday we had a very informal dinner with friends. Informal, because we had spent the afternoon touring some Nillumbik wineries together, and there was little time to do elaborate preparations. I wanted to do something that we could nibble on whilst I made the smoked trout risotto I had decided on, and found this recipe from Jamie Oliver. It looked tempting and possible to mostly prepare in advance, so I decided to give it a go. And it was the hit of the evening. Even my husband loved it and he is not a great fan of eggplant, let alone the anchovies that were in the filling - but I didn't tell him about those. So here is the recipe. Jamie just calls it Involtini. I didn't put the skewers in - they seemed to stay rolled up all by themselves. He says it should only take 25 minutes, but I think it took somewhat longer. Maybe half an hour frying the eggplant slices on my wonderful Le Creuset griddle and then assembling the rolls. I had made the filling in the morning. But I am a bit slow so maybe it's possible to do it in 25 minutes. Easy though and absolutely delicious. I will make it again. And we actually sat down to eat it with knives and forks. They were a little large to just nibble at by hand. There were two or three good mouthfuls in each roll.
Involtini though are a much more general thing, and mostly the term refers to veal or beef strips rolled around a filling and fried or baked with or without a sauce. Chicken and fish are also sometimes used. So in spite of Jamie just calling these involtini, he really should have called them involtini di melanzane (which is the Italian for eggplant/aubergine)
Involtini di melanzane seem to be a southern Italian thing from either Puglia or Sicily. And the filling varies. Rachel Roddy of the Guardian offers a pretty traditional Sicilian version which involves things like raisins, pine nuts and lemons -
And there are lots of similar recipes out there. The ever obliging Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall gives a range of suggestions for fillings, which probably roughly cover the main possibilities that you will see out there - for the ones that are not covered with a sauce and baked that is.
Soft goat's cheese, toasted pine nuts and chopped basil
Crumbled feta, chopped, toasted hazelnuts, raisins and mint.
Cooked chickpeas, lightly crushed and mixed with cumin, garlic and dried chilli flakes.
Brush with pesto or tapenade then add torn strips of mozzarella.
Ricotta mixed with cooked and shredded spinach, grated parmesan and a few gratings of nutmeg."
And Delia has a version too - Italian stuffed aubergines, although hers are scattered with parmesan and finished off in the oven. I think this would still make them involtini, although generally I do not think the involtini are cooked after they are stuffed. Nigel Slater seems to think you bake them, but he too does not add a sauce.
Involtini di melanzane are slices of aubergine that have been stuffed with olives, toasted breadcrumbs and pecorino cheese, then rolled and baked, to be eaten warm" Nigel Slater
Claudia Roden too, in her book The Food of Italy, bakes them in the oven, whilst still calling them involtini. Her recipe is pretty simple and homely somehow:
1 very large aubergine (400-500g), salt, oil for frying, 250g mozzarella, 8 basil leaves, freshly ground black pepper.
Slice the aubergine think, salt and leave to drain for an hour. Rinse and dry. Fry quickly in hot oil until tender and slightly browned. Drain on kitchen paper.
Cut the mozzarella into slices, plate basil leaf on each slices, sprinkle with pepper. Roll each aubergine slice around a slice of cheese and the basil and place in an oven dish. Grill until the cheese softens. Serve at once.
This is probably the simplest version I found, but I still go for Jamie's. It was all in the blend of flavours.
If you stuff them and cover them with a sauce - inevitably a tomato sauce, then I think they become something different - braciola - although I may be wrong, because I certainly found recipes for stuffed aubergines that were then covered with a tomato sauce and baked and which were still called involtini. Nigella is top of the list here. I could not find the original recipe - it's from her Feast book, but there are several reiterations of it on the net - this is one of them - Nigella's involtini. Although it's not a quick and easy dish.
"Nigella´s recipes are never scary - that helped! But do make sure you have a sandwich or some nibbles on hand before you start off - this will take you at least an hour!" Clivia
Mostly this type of dish has a cheesy kind of filling, although I don't think Nigella's one does, and the one I have reprinted below, from a Guardian reader sort of has a bit of everything.
These little aubergine involtini are common throughout southern Italy. Most versions include mozzarella and ham but my mother-in-law, from Puglia, uses mortadella. My recipe is based on hers, with a few additions of my own: pine nuts, lemon zest, mint and basil. Katharine Roberts, Denbigh, leeksandlimoni.blogspot.com
Makes about 15
2 large aubergines 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to cook 100g ricotta salata or goat's cheese 125g ball mozzarella, finely chopped 50g sliced mortadella, roughly chopped 25g parmesan, grated 75g pine nuts 2 tbsp breadcrumbs 1 garlic clove, crushed Zest of 1 lemon 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil 1 egg, beaten 400g passata
1 Cut the aubergines lengthwise into thinnish slices and brush with oil. Cook on a very hot griddle until soft and striped. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5.
2 Mix together all the other ingredients except the passata, and season to taste.
3 Put a small amount of filling on each aubergine slice and roll it up tightly. Place in a lightly greased gratin dish, pour over the passata and a drizzle of olive oil and season.
4 Bake for about 25-30 mins. Serve warm rather than hot.
But really all I wanted to say is do try this great Jamie recipe for involtini. A mini taste sensation.
