Ricotta Filled Eggplant

I'm on an Italian food kick this week, mainly because I bought a lot of eggplant and I have fresh basil in my garden! This recipe comes together fast and is really filling, would be the perfect dish if you do Meatless Mondays.

(sorry for the picture quality, snapped this right before sunset)

Ricotta Filled Eggplant

    serves 2-3

• 1 small/medium Eggplant
• 1 cup of Marinara Sauce, whatever you have on hand
• 1/2 cup part skim Ricotta Cheese
• 1/2 cup whole milk Mozzarella, shredded
• 1 Egg or just 1 yolk 
• 1-2 Tbsp freeze dried Basil or 1 Tbsp fresh Basil
• 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan Cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat your grill pan over medium-high heat, while it's heating up slice the eggplant. I did long strips and got six slices from one eggplant. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray each side of the eggplant with cooking spray, and grill 2-3 minutes per side. In the meantime make your filling. Mix the ricotta, egg, parmesan cheese, half of the mozzarella, the basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix until well combined. Let the grilled eggplant cool for a few minutes until it can be handled. At the top of the piece of eggplant, spoon on about 1.5 tablespoons of the filling and then gently roll the eggplant up. Be careful not to roll too tightly or press down so the filling doesn't ooze out. Place the eggplant into your baking dish and top with the marinara sauce and the remainder of the mozzarella cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and everything is bubbling. Serve up with a nice green salad or a big hunk of delicious garlic bread! Enjoy!

Per serving (2 eggplant rolls): 240 calories, 14 net carbs, 15 grams of protein, 11 grams of fat.