Garden Vegetable Antipasto Platter- Part 2: Grilled Eggplant Rolls

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we had some friends drop in on us and I hadn’t prepared anything before hand. While Kishore kept them company in the garden I put together a quick vegetarian antipasto appetizer platter for the four of us. The platter included: Stuffed Squash Blossoms, Grilled Eggplant Rolls, Garden Giardiniera, Olives, and Rosemary Parmesan Flatbread Crackers. We sat outside in the garden by the Koi pond and talked about our vegetable gardens and our plans for next year. We sat, talked, and sipped on a lovely Muscato. Here's the second recipe I promised...

Part 2: Grilled Eggplant Rolls

I used Ichiban or Japanese Eggplants from my garden but you can usually buy them in the local market. I prefer using the Japanese eggplants because I find they are less seedy, and less acidic than the large Italian Eggplants. While you can use the large Italian Eggplants in this recipe, it does require slightly more prep work of soaking the slices. These Eggplant Rolls, are grilled then stuffed with a nutty herb spiced cheese mix. It's great as an appetizer or as part of a antipasto platter. 

Here is my recipe for Grilled Eggplant Rolls:


Makes 24 Rolls

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Ricotta cheese

1/2 cup Feta cheese

1 TBLSP Pine Nuts 

3 tsp Fresh Basil chopped

1 tsp Fresh Thyme leaves

1 tsp Ground Allspice

1 tsp Lemon juice

Salt and Black Pepper

Olive Oil

4 Ichiban Eggplants*

* Or 1 Large Italian eggplant, remember to soak the slices in salt water for 30 minutes and cut the slices in half longways after grilling.

Preheat the oven to Broil High.

Directions:

1. Mix the cheese, basil, thyme, allspice, lemon juice, pine nuts, salt and pepper.

2. Carefully thinly Slice the cleaned Eggplant longways.

3. Lightly oil a foil lined baking sheet, place eggplant slices and lightly brush with olive oil on both sides. 

4. Place in the oven and grill for 5 minutes on one side then turn and grill for another 5 minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on them because they can burn VERY quickly.

5. Let the eggplant slices cool slightly. Spread about a teaspoon of cheese mixture on one side of the slice, then roll it up with the larger end on the outside of the roll.

6. Serve immediately and Enjoy!

Enjoy!

Part 3: Rosemary Parmesan Flatbread Crackers.