Summer Eggplant and Feta Rolls
These eggplant rolls are a great summer canape or entree, with a tasty hit of basil.
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant/aubergine
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons rosemary very finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ground black pepper
- salt
- 2 chargrilled capsicum sliced (from a jar or deli)
- 100-150 g sheep feta cut into 12 thin slices (I used Blue River Dairy's)
- 20 basil leaves
Instructions
- Use a sharp knife and slice the top and bottom 1-2cm off the eggplant, so that it can stand upright on a chopping board. Carefully slice eggplant lengthways into 10-12 long 0.5cm-thick slices – try to keep the slices of equal thickness.
- Mix olive oil, garlic and rosemary and brush onto eggplant slices. Season with salt and pepper. Grill on a preheated BBQ grill plate or in a grill pan until lightly browned, about 5 minutes on each side. The eggplant slices should be cooked through, and soft and pliable. Alternatively, you can bake them on a baking tray lined with baking paper, in a 180degC/360 Fahrenheit oven for about 15 minutes until lightly browned.
- To assemble, lay a slice of grilled eggplant on a flat surface and top with a slice of feta, slices of capsicum, and 1-2 basil leaves, then roll up tightly and arrange on a platter, with the seam side down. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Notes
Eggplant (also known as aubergine) is one of my favourite vegetables! That deep purple colour is just so beautiful. You used to have to salt it before cooking it to remove bitterness, but this issue has mostly been bred out. However if you find eggplant a little bitter, you could try salting it by covering slices liberally with salt and leaving in a colander over the sink for 30 – 90 min before rinsing off to use.
I used sheep feta for this recipe, but any feta, goats cheese or even blue cheese would also work. I also used grilled/roasted capsicum from a jar but if you wanted to prepare them yourself, check out this Smoky Capsicum, Eggplant and Mint Mezze recipe for a method.