With tomato, ricotta and heaps of cheese, this vegetable bake is anything but boring

One of the biggest mindset shifts was to realise that eating healthily and being at a weight I was comfortable with required cultivating a lifelong daily practice

Eggplant rolls from Shred Happens

It took me 20 years of yo-yo dieting to realise there was no miracle solution to weight loss, and to rethink my relationship with food. I finally understood that to make the big change I was looking for, I needed to focus on the little things. One of the biggest mindset shifts was to realise that eating healthily and being at a weight I was comfortable with weren’t just destinations to reach but required cultivating a lifelong daily practice. For me, what changed things was not to focus on a strict diet or a quick fix, but rather making small, sustainable changes that I could maintain daily. This meant celebrating the little decisions, like ordering the healthier option when dining out, cutting out snacking, or making a healthier version of a sugary or carb-loaded craving. I had to learn to trust that these small steps would yield the changes I envisioned.

These eggplant ricotta rolls make vegetables tasty.

Shred Happens: So Easy, So Good

Vegetables don’t have to be boring and flavourless. In fact, these ricotta-stuffed eggplant rolls are quite the opposite.

Ricotta-stuffed eggplant rolls

Ingredients

• 2 medium Italian eggplants
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

For the marinara sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ medium onion, minced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 x 305g can tomato puree
• ½ teaspoon crushed chilli flakes
• ¼ bunch of fresh basil, finely chopped, plus extra for garnish
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the cheese filling

• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1⁄3 cup shredded mozzarella
• 1⁄3 cup grated pecorino cheese, plus extra for garnish
• ¼ bunch of fresh basil, finely chopped
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 230C. Using a sharp knife, slice the eggplants lengthwise into ½ cm-thick slices. Sprinkle with salt and let them sit between paper towels for 30 minutes to absorb moisture. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and drizzle with some of the olive oil.
2. Brush the eggplant slices on both sides with the remaining olive oil and arrange them in a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake the slices for about 8 minutes, until lightly brown on one side, then flip and bake for another 5 minutes on the other side. Remove from the oven and immediately lower the oven temperature to 175C. Transfer the eggplant to a plate and set aside.
3. For the marinara sauce: Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic for 4-5 minutes, until the onion is golden brown. Add the thyme and sauté for another minute. Add the tomato puree, chilli flakes, basil and balsamic vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until some of the water has evaporated and the sauce is thick and silky.
4. For the cheese filling: In a bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella, pecorino and basil; season with salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.
5. Pour two-thirds of the marinara sauce into a deep oven-safe pan.
6. To make the eggplant rolls, place 2 tablespoons of the cheese filling near one end of an eggplant slice and roll it up. As each roll is formed, place it in the pan. The sauce should partially submerge the rolls.
7. Pour the remaining one-third of the marinara sauce over the rolls and sprinkle with grated pecorino.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the sauce bubbles. Garnish with some more fresh basil and serve hot.

Serves 4-6