Recipe
Sicilian Eggplant Rolls Recipe
This recipe is rated 5.0 out of 5.
In Sicily, great flavour comes from patience, not shortcuts. These eggplant rolls celebrate the kind of unhurried home cooking that coaxes deep flavour from simple ingredients — a rich, slow-simmered sauce, a savoury filling, and tender eggplant rolled and baked to perfection.
You will need
Serves 2-4
- 2 medium eggplants
- Salt (for purging bitterness)
- Sunflower oil or other vegetable oil, for frying the eggplant
- 3 tablespoons olive oil for sauteing the onion
- 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
- 3-4 tablespoons tomato paste
- A small handful of toasted pine nuts
- A small handful of black currants
- 250g white toast bread, finely ground (or any stale bread)
- 3 tablespoons vegan parmesan, plus extra for topping
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For the sauce:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 small red onion, chopped
- 400g diced tomatoes
- Salt, to taste
- A pinch of sugar (if needed)
- Handful of fresh basil, plus extra for garnish
Recipe: Alessandra D’Angelo
Directions
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Step 1
Slice the eggplants lengthways into thin strips (about 5mm). Sprinkle with salt and rest in a colander for 30–45 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the slices on both sides until golden and tender. Drain on paper towels.
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Step 2
Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion until soft. Add tomato paste and cook for a few minutes, adding a splash of water if needed. Stir in pine nuts and currants and cook briefly. Add the ground bread and mix well, then stir in the parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool slightly.
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Step 3
For the sauce: heat olive oil in a saucepan and cook the garlic and onion until soft. Add diced tomatoes, salt and sugar and simmer over medium-low heat for 20–30 minutes. Blend until smooth if desired, then stir in 5-10 leaves of basil (roughly chopped), to taste.
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Step 4
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce at the bottom of a mid-sized baking dish.
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Step 5
Place a spoonful of filling (plus a sprinkle of vegan parmesan if you like) at one end of each eggplant slice, and roll up gently. Place it in the baking dish seam-side down, then repeat with the remaining slices and filling.
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Step 6
Cover the eggplant rolls with the remaining sauce, and sprinkle with vegan parmesan and basil. Bake for 15–20 minutes until hot and bubbling.
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Step 7
Garnish with extra parmesan and fresh basil before serving.
Hot tip!
Serve as a starter to a Mediterranean-inspired meal, or share between two for a satisfying main!
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Recipe: Alessandra D’Angelo
