Rolled Eggplant
- 5-6tggplants, sliced lengthwise, 1/8" thick
- Olive oil
- For the filling:
- 8tups fine, dried breadcrumbs
- 2targe onions, diced
- 2tups chopped, sweet basil
- 1 1/8 tups grated Romano cheese
- 2tbs. olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Grated Romano cheese
- Use your favorite tomato sauce with basil and garlic or make your own:
- 2t2-ounce cans tomato paste
- 2tbs. olive oil
- 14-20 sweet basil leaves
- 7-8tloves of garlic, whole
- Water
- Salt and pepper
- 1. Salt both sides of each slice of eggplant. Place slices in a colander and leave to drain for at least 2 hours.
- 2. If you are making your own sauce, scrape tomato paste into a medium sauce pan. Save the cans. Add 5 full cans of water to the tomato paste. Stir to combine. Add garlic, olive oil and basil. Stir. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for one hour.
- 3. While the sauce simmers, make your filling. Brown the breadcrumbs under the broiler, taking care to watch them closely and toss frequently until they are lightly browned. Set aside. In a saute pan, combine olive oil and onions; stir occasionally until lightly browned. In a large bowl, combine browned breadcrumbs, onions, cheese and basil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- 4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse eggplants to remove salt. Dry them thoroughly with paper toweling. In a heavy, high-sided skillet, heat 11/2" of olive oil until smoking. Fry eggplants in batches, turning each slice, until lightly browned on both sides. Drain on paper toweling and continue until all eggplants are fried.
- 5. Prepare to roll the eggplants. Cover the bottom of a large glass baking dish with a thin layer of sauce. Set aside. Lay a slice of eggplant flat on work surface. Place 1 teaspoon of the sauce on the slice; then place 2 tablespoons of filling. Roll eggplant tightly, lengthwise. Place in baking dish, seam-side down. Continue until all of the slices are filled and rolled. Drizzle sauce over the top of the rolled eggplants and sprinkle with Romano cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until heated through.
eggplants, olive oil, breadcrumbs, onions, sweet basil, romano cheese, olive oil, salt, romano cheese, tomato sauce, tomato paste, olive oil, sweet basil, garlic, water, salt
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/rolled-eggplant-1202576 (may not work)