There comes a certain time in your life when you realise you can no longer show up to lunches and dinner gatherings with a packet of chips and a bottle of coke. This is the epiphany I had when I was invited to my first Master’s class get-together. Most of my classmates are married with children and a 9-5 career — I have none of those. My gut-instinct was to hop across to Spar and get some hummus and pita bread, but then everyone started listing what they would be bringing on the group chat: home-made black bean salad, a freshly baked chocolate cake and other intimidating platters. Already the youngest in the class, I decided to prove my ‘maturity’ with a dish. And this eggplant rollatini proved to be an absolute hit (with everyone but my professor… but you can’t win all the time). With minimal effort and ingredients, this will only take a moment of your time to blow your guests away!

Ingredients 

• Three eggplants
• One can of diced tomatoes
• Feta OR ricotta 
• Pepper 
• Salt 
• Dried herbs 
• Basil 
• Lemon juice 
• Chillies (whatever variety matches your tolerance)
• Chilli flakes
• Grated parmesan 

1. Slice the eggplants into thin, long pieces and salt both sides for ten minutes. 
2. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 190 degrees. 
3. Dab the salt off of the sliced eggplant, and lay them out on a baking pan and grill in the oven for ten minutes, before flipping them over and leave for another ten minutes. 
4. While the original recipe calls for ricotta, I could only find (and afford) feta. Blend a cube of feta or a cup of ricotta with some lemon juice, pepper and herbs. Since feta is a stronger, saltier cheese, be careful here with measurements; Add only a pinch of lemon and pepper. Ricotta is blander, therefore squeeze out half a lemon and add a lot of pepper and some chili flakes for a kick. 
5. Drain most of the liquid from a can of diced tomatoes, then pour into a glass dish. Spice to your liking; I recommend salt, pepper, dried herbs, chilli flakes and some fresh basil. Add chopped chili to the tomato base. If you used feta, add some full-cream milk or cream to balance the acidity in the tomato base. This is not necessary if you are using ricotta – this cheese is less overpowering and acidic. 
6. Take the eggplant out of the oven. Let it cool before spreading the whipped cheese onto the eggplant. Roll it like a joint before placing it in the tomato base. Continue this until all eggplant joints have been placed into the dish. 
7. Spoon out any left-over whipped cheese and sprinkle some fresh basil on-top. 
8. Before placing the dish in the oven for forty minutes, sprinkle as much parmesan as your heart desires on top (which, let’s be honest, is always a generous amount). 
9. Remove and let it cool for ten minutes before serving. 

Serving suggestions: 

This on top of a slice of sourdough goes hard. With a side salad or even some gnocchi, this makes for an enjoyable summer dinner dish. Also, perfectly presentable on its own.