Eggplant Pinwheels With Spicy Tomato Sauce
I bought a large, gorgeous, purple eggplant at the farmers market and I wasn't sure what to do with it. I'll be the first to finish baba ganoush or eggplant parmesan but I haven't cooked with this fruit that we call a vegetable. I thoroughly enjoyed making this appetizer as it looks elegant and tastes great! This was also a great excuse to rock my Emeril Lagasse double stove top ridged grill pan! Rolling the eggplant was fun because it looked quite cute and put together at the end. I realize that there is a lot of possibility for variation. I was having two friends over for dinner and I was trying to stick to an Italian theme. One eggplant made about 8 rolls! Be cautious to not cut the eggplant too thin as the strips will tear when you try to roll them. Some ideas of items to add to future eggplant rolls include Italian sausage, mozzarella, or thin slices of shawarma!! YUM YUM YUM :)
Total Steps
7
Ingredients
10
Tools Needed
3
Ingredients
- 6 <a href="/FQRPFPP6">garlic cloves,</a> minced
- 2 teaspoon dried <a href="/MKMVYX86">hot red pepper </a>flakes
- 1 tablespoon <a href="/NLPYVN22">olive oil </a>(for sauce), plus about 6 more tablespoons of <a href="/NLPYVN22">olive oil</a>
- 1.5 pound <a href="/4VLJSM7Q">plum tomatoes </a>(about 5), chopped
- 0.5 teaspoon <a href="/6H6G87VP">sugar</a>
- 1 large <a href="/BXN8GL8V">eggplant</a>
- 1.5 cup <a href="/ZYMVWF3N">fresh ricotta </a><a href="/TX5HB7FP">cheese</a>
- 0.5 cup <a href="/Q7VT4YB6">parmesan,</a> finely grated
- 0.33333298563957214 cup <a href="/7KHW5QYZ">basil </a>finely chopped
- 0 Black pepper
Instructions
Step 1
For the sauce: Cook 3 <a href="/ZG86GNS8">minced </a>garlic cloves, <a href="/RF7SRX43">dried </a>pepper flakes in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a sauce pan over medium high <a href="/XZFHRHHF">heat,</a> <a href="/DRM2WPZ4">stirring </a>until the garlic is fragrant and <a href="/B52FHCF2">turning </a>gold, about 30 seconds.
Step 2
Add the tomatoes and sugar and <a href="/GFSF4J5F">simmer,</a> <a href="/DRM2WPZ4">stirring </a>occasionally, until slightly <a href="/LXP6HLBF">thickened,</a> about 20-25 minutes.
Step 3
For the eggplant: <a href="/XZFHRHHF">Heat </a><a href="/2V2PRWTZ">grill </a>pan over high <a href="/XZFHRHHF">heat </a>until hot.
Step 4
<a href="/RSDQ7YW8">Peel </a>the <a href="/8YHHJCST">skin </a>from the eggplant and <a href="/XZBDDD5G">cut </a>1/3 inch thick <a href="/3JDX2Q84">slices </a>of the eggplant, lengthwise. Place the eggplant strips on a pan or <a href="/ZJ3WDM5Q">plate </a>and brush both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper.
Step 5
<a href="/2V2PRWTZ">Grill </a>the <a href="/3JDX2Q84">slices </a>in batches, <a href="/B52FHCF2">turning </a>over once, until golden <a href="/D434P8MH">brown </a>and tender with <a href="/2V2PRWTZ">grill </a>marks, about 5 minutes. Transfer these to a tray or pan.
Step 6
<a href="/7S3QCKWK">Mix </a>together the parmesan, ricotta, basil, pepper and remaining garlic. Spread the cheese mixture on the <a href="/3JDX2Q84">slices,</a> leaving a 1/3 inch tip at each end of the eggplant.
Step 7
<a href="/LTNN8R88">Roll </a>up the <a href="/3JDX2Q84">slices </a>of eggplant and <a href="/Y6MVNCHX">serve </a>with spicy tomato sauce. YUM!!