Elegant Eggplant Rollups with a Roasted Red Pepper Marinara

Eggplant is a wonderful vegetable that is most often thought of as being bitter. However, it is very simple to make and has a wonderful flavor. This particular recipe is a fancy alternative to eggplant parmesan. It is perfect as an appetizer or as a main dish. The combination of the roasted red pepper sauce complements the eggplant perfectly. However, your favorite marinara will work just fine. 

Ingredients

Eggplant
One large eggplant about 2 pounds
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 – 15 oz. container of light ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of low moisture mozzerella cheese
Sauce
1 – 7 oz. jar of any brand of roast red peppers drained, about 1 cup blended
1 cup of canned peeled crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon of kosher salt

Technique

Coat two baking sheets with a non-sticking spray. Slice eggplant into thin uniformed pieces lengthwise. Use a mandolin if possible. Toss eggplant pieces in large bowl with the olive oil. Add oil slowly, eggplant has a tendency to soak up the oil. Once coated with oil, place on cookie sheets. Cover with foil and bake in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. While eggplant is cooking, make sauce. Combine drained roasted red peppers, crushed tomatoes and kosher salt in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a large pot and simmer over low heat. Remove eggplant from oven. Once eggplant is cool add a tablespoon of ricotta cheese to each slice and roll. Put finished rolled eggplant back onto the greased cookie sheet. Bake for an additional 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove, place on plate or serving dish. Garnish with the roasted pepper marinara and mozzerella cheese. Serve immediately.

Suggested Beverage

Try Farnese Sangiovese (Italy), Cantina Zaccagnini il vino “dal tralcetto” Montepuliciano d’Abruzzo Dry Red Wine (Italy), Allegrini Palazzo Della Torre Veronese (Italy), Bogle Vineyards Old Vine Zinfandel (California) or Beringer Founder’s Estate Old Vine Zinfandel (California).

Chatty Advice

When making any of our gluten-free recipes take care in reading the labels of any packaged or canned products. If there is a label on anything you are using, read it or ask to make sure that it is indeed gluten-free. Many products vary in ingredients from brand to brand. Some examples of this can be found when looking at the labels of soy sauce, mustard, distilled vinegar, and even chicken broth.