The Italian tradition of cooking embraces all vegetables, but there is a particular fondness for tomatoes and many varieties of squash. This eggplant roulade features a savory filling of pesto and ricotta cheese, all rolled into pre-baked slices of eggplant.

The rolls are then topped with tomato sauce and sun-dried tomatoes for a tasty dinner that doesn’t rely on carbs. But, of course you can add them if you want! Make no mistake: this recipe goes perfectly with some freshly-baked bread or some pasta or risotto.

To begin making this recipe you’ll need to slice your eggplant into 1/4″ strips that are as wide as the eggplant itself. To get more real estate you’ll want to pick the biggest eggplant you can find in the store.

To make slicing and rolling easier it’s best to peel off the skin from the front and back of each eggplant. That way when you slice there’s no awkward skin to deal with on 2 of your pieces. You can leave the skin on the rest of the eggplant, though, as it will lend a bit of structure to the slices.

I kept my slices in a big bowl of water weighted down with a glass bowl while I sliced the rest of the eggplant to keep them from oxidizing.

You’ll need to make sure that your slices are covered in olive oil before they go in the oven. This ensures they soften evenly as that’s the main goal. Without this step they will snap instead of roll. But, don’t over-bake the slices as they can become mushy quite easily.

Once your slices are done simply place some of the filling on the end of each one and roll them up. I found that even the softest slices still rolled quite well. After adding some sauce on top these are baked again and the result is a flavor-filled dish that’s a real beauty to bring to the table.