Rolled Eggplant with Tomato Pepper Sauce

Amarante

Fri, May 26 2017, 2:25 pm

This is really simple because you can make the components ahead of time and then assemble. I used toothpicks to secure the rolls while baking.

It's really a healthier version of manicotti using eggplant instead of pasta.

Serving size is really more like a substantial appetizer or light entree which one could supplement with other items.

Changed the name in the title LOL

EGGPLANT INVOLTINI WITH SPICY RED PEPPER EMULSION

SERVES 4

Involtini is a term describing a food—often veal, beef, pork, or chicken—that’s thinly sliced, stuffed, and rolled around a cheese filling. Eggplant goes into this involtini for vegetarians, as its “meaty” texture makes it sturdy enough to stand up to the stuffing and rolling it’s subjected to. Typical involtini style calls for frying the eggplant before rolling, but here we bake it for a lighter dish that lets the eggplant be the star of the show. A red pepper emulsion—peppers cooked to tenderness and pureed to bring out their essence—stands in for the tomato sauce that eggplant involtini is typically baked in.

SPICY RED PEPPER EMULSION

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
½ small shallot, thinly sliced
2 large red bell peppers, cored and seeded, cut into ½-inch pieces
½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
½ teaspoon sugar
½ cup chicken stock
¼ cup crushed tomatoes, with juices
Crushed red pepper, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

EGGPLANT INVOLTINI

1 large eggplant, about 1 ½ pounds
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
¼ pound (about 1 cup) fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil and/or flat-leaf parsley
Olive oil for brushing

SPICY RED PEPPER EMULSION

IN a medium saucepan, combine olive oil and garlic over medium-low heat and sauté until garlic is aromatic, about 1 minute. Add shallot and sauté until translucent. Stir in peppers, salt, and sugar. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock and crushed tomatoes and simmer, partially covered, until peppers are tender, about 8 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender. Transfer to a bowl and season with crushed red pepper and salt to taste.

FOR THE EGGPLANT INVOLTINI

TRIM the eggplant, then cut lengthwise into eight ¼-inch-thick slices. Layer the slices in a colander set over a plate, sprinkling each layer with salt, and let stand for 30 minutes to drain.

PREHEAT the oven to 450°F.

MEANWHILE, in a bowl, stir together the ricotta, mozzarella, egg, 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano, and the basil/parsley, and season with fresh pepper.

WIPE the eggplant and pat dry with paper towels. Brush the slices on both sides with olive oil, then arrange them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

BAKE the slices in the lower third of the oven until lightly browned on the bottom, 8–10 minutes. Turn the slices over and continue to bake until browned on the second side and tender, 8–10 minutes more. Remove the eggplant from the oven. Reduce the temperature to 350°F.

SPOON a thin layer of the red pepper sauce into a 8-inch-square baking dish. Place a spoonful of the cheese mixture near one end of a slice of eggplant and roll up the slice. Place the roll, seam side down, in the dish. Repeat with remaining eggplant.

Spoon the remaining sauce over the rolls, then sprinkle evenly with the remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano.

BAKE the rolls until the sauce is bubbling hot and the rolls are heated through, about 25 minutes. Allow to set 5 minutes before serving.

DIVIDE the rolls among the four plates and serve immediately.