Eggplant Rollups with Red Pepper Tomato Sauce
Why I Love This Recipe
This recipe actually came to be after stumbling across a TASTY post on Facebook. I only briefly caught the clip but what I did see was enough to turn me on to the idea. Tender, roasted eggplant all rolled up with a delicious ricotta filling and baked in a luscious red pepper tomato sauce. Hearty, flavourful, and fabulous!
Ingredients You'll Need
2 Eggplants
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
2 Tbsp. Italian style Bread Crumbs
SAUCE
¼ C EVOO
2 Shallots, diced
3 cloves Garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp. Piquillo Pepper Bruschetta
(Roasted Peppers are a perfect substitute)
798ml can Diced Tomatoes
1 ½ Tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
¼ Tsp. Sugar
½ Tsp. + Sea Salt
FILLING
270g tub Ricotta Cheese
2 cloves Garlic, grated / pressed
1 Tsp. Fresh Thyme
1 Tbsp. Fresh Parsley, chopped
½ Tsp. Italian Seasoning
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
Sea Salt / Black Pepper
Fresh Parsley - Garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 F
Slicing lengthwise, slice off the ends of the eggplants and cut the remaining portion into equal sized slices. Transfer slices and ends to baking sheet coated in cooking spray. Drizzle the eggplant with oil and season each slice with sea salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Bake 10 minutes, flip, and bake 10 minutes more. Take out and let cool 5 minutes.
**Begin sauce while eggplant roasts
Reduce the oven to 375 F
In a medium sized sauce pot, bring the EVOO to temperature on medium. Once heated, add the 3 cloves of crushed garlic and fry up 2 or 3 minutes without burning.
Remove the garlic and add the shallots and red pepper flakes. Season with sea salt and cook 2 minutes before spooning in the piquillo pepper topping. Cook another minute and add the diced tomatoes.
Bring the sauce to a boil on medium. Add ½ Tsp. sea salt and ¼ Tsp. sugar. Reduce heat and cover for 10 minutes. Use an Immersion Blender to blend the sauce until smooth and chunk free.
In a small mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the filling. Season the filling with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Take the roasted ends of the eggplant and chop them up adding them to the filling.
Spoon the filling onto the slices of eggplant and smear it along to coat the entire slice. Roll it from one end to the other until fully rolled up. Place the eggplant folded side down in the sauced baking dish.
Drizzle each roll with sauce. Sprinkle each roll with parmesan and bread crumbs. Spray the rolls with cooking spray from a distance to prevent the crumbs from blowing all over. Dot a few more dollops of sauce across the dish.
*Refrigerate / Freeze remaining sauce for a future use
Place in the oven to bake 25 - 30 minutes
Remove from oven and garnish with fresh parsley.
Serve and enjoy!
