Grilled Eggplant Roll-ups

By Cindy

Ingredients

• For the Spicy Tomato Sauce:
• 2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 small chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano or marjoram
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 28-ounce can Italian crushed tomatoes
• A few leaves of basil, torn
• For the roll-ups:
• 1 large clove garlic, crushed
• 2 medium to large firm eggplants, very thinly sliced lengthwise
• Salt
• 1 pound fresh ricotta cheese
• 1 egg yolk
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• A small handful of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 pound spicy capicola ham
• 1 pound fresh or smoked mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

For sauce, heat a medium saucepot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. When oil is hot, add onions, chili pepper, garlic, bay, oregano or marjoram, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Cook until soft. Add tomato paste, stir a minute then add stock, crushed tomatoes and basil. Simmer over low heat to thicken a little and combine flavors.
Meanwhile, preheat cast iron grill pan or broiler. Lightly salt and drain eggplant on paper towels. Heat an inch of EVOO in a small pot over medium heat with garlic to infuse oil. Brush eggplant planks with EVOO and grill or broil in batches a few minutes on each side until charred and very tender, cool to handle.

Preheat oven to 400ºF.


In a small bowl, combine ricotta with egg yolk, nutmeg, parm and parsley. Line the bottom of a baking dish with a ladleful of sauce.

On each slice of eggplant, arrange 2 thin slices of ham and spread with ricotta cheese mixed with 1 egg yolk, nutmeg, Parm and parsley. Roll eggplant up and set into baking dish. Repeat to fill dish and use up ingredients, top with remaining sauce. Place a slice of fresh mozzarella over each roll up and bake 30 minutes.
Serve with green salad or sautéed kale alongside.