It’s a bit late, but here is the second instalment of my series, Postcards from Italy. This time Zia Teresa is using two of my favourite ingredients: aubergines and mortadella. For me, this partnership instantly transports me to much loved Italian picnics at the beach. In this recipe they are rolled together to make impressive antipasti or side dishes – great for any dinner party.

It’s widely known that it’s not enough to simply translate Italian recipes without any adaptations. The Italian approach to cooking is quite different to us here in the UK. British cookbooks tend to give us much more detailed explanations on how to cook dishes, therefore I have elaborated on the method section of Zia Teresa’s recipe, making things a little clearer.

Involtini di Melanzane – Aubergine Rolls

Ingredients 

500g   Aubergine

200g   Mortadella

200g   Plain Flour

100g   Pecorino

500g   Tomatoes (good quality, ripe)

Olive Oil

Salt and pepper

Method

1. Rinse the aubergines to make sure they are clean.
2. Cut into thin slices, lengthways.
3. Sprinkle the slices with salt and leave for 30 minutes. This is so the moisture comes out of them and they soak up less oil.
4. Whilst you are waiting, concasse the tomatoes.
5. Rinse the salt off the aubergines and pat dry with kitchen towel.
6. Use a plate to put the flour onto. Cover each slice of aubergine with flour. Shake excess off before placing them in a frying pan with hot olive oil.
7. Once fried, leave them to drain on some kitchen towel to get rid of excess oil.
8. Once cooled, place half a slice of mortadella on top of each aubergine slice, followed by a small handful of tomatoes, a little pecorino and some seasoning. Roll up the slice and secure with a toothpick.

NB: This recipe makes ALOT of aubergine rolls. I used one aubergine and got approximately 10 rolls from it.