When you are looking for a dish that evokes freshness at the same time as providing rich and harmonious flavors, try to imagine eggplant rolls filled with mullet, tomato, and mint leaves. What do you say? Already enjoying the first bite I bet.
The involtino already in itself refers to a small treasure chest packed with flavor. The combination of eggplant and tomato is a classic of Italian cuisine, and with the addition of mullet, a highly prized fish, you get that extra special touch of sophistication.
Mullet, an extraordinary fish
It is small, very tasty, doesn’t need long cooking times, it can be cooked stewed, baked, fried, marinated, or left raw in a tartare. There are a thousand reasons to serve dishes with mullet. It has a pink/silver skin, offers a strong taste of the sea, it’s a lean meat and rich in minerals, such as calcium and phosphorus. The beginning of autumn is the best time to fish them because in spring they reproduced and there are plenty of them. The only drawback is the number of thorns, but this doesn’t stop you from enjoying them.
Eggplants, fried and only fried
Don't be horrified you eleventh hour health fanatics, for this dish, eggplants should be fried. But don't worry, you know that a fried eggplant, done well, is still considered a very valid cooking method. So, get an excellent peanut seed oil, the most suitable for frying, and don’t skimp on quantity. The lightly floured slices of eggplant cook in a few minutes without absorbing the oil that terrifies you so much.
How to make eggplant involtini stuffed with mullet and tomato
Ingredients
4 mullets, 2 round eggplants, flour, salt, tomato puree, mint leaves, peanut oil for frying, breadcrumbs, extra virgin olive oil, grated Parmigiano cheese.
Method
First wash the eggplants, slice them, and flour them. Heat the peanut oil in a non-stick pan and when it’s hot fry the eggplant slices. Drain them and let them dry on a plate covered with a sheet of absorbent paper. Meanwhile, cook the mullet fillets in a pan in a little extra virgin olive oil. Once ready, chop them, salt them, and mix them with the breadcrumbs. Add the chopped mint leaves and place a little of this mixture on each slice of eggplant. Roll them up and put them in a pan with some extra virgin olive oil and a few tablespoons of tomato puree. Sprinkle the eggplant rolls with some grated Parmigiano cheese, finish with a drizzle of oil and bake in a preheated oven at 180° for 15 minutes. Then serve.