Friday, June 19, 2009

Grilled Eggplant Rollatini with Fresh Mozzarella

I adore eggplant. I really love fried eggplant but it's so messy to make and not exactly healthy for you. I find grilling eggplant is a far superior way to go - especially in the summer. The grill adds a smoky flavor and the eggplant really chars up beautifully in a matter of minutes. There's nothing prettier than a set of grill marks on a thick slice of eggplant.
I made these simple rollatini for an appetizer the other night. I thinly sliced an eggplant, drizzled it liberally with olive oil on both sides and then seasoned the slices with salt and pepper.
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I threw them over a hot grill until they were softened and nicely charred on each side. Then I took some fresh mozzarella and cut it into strips. I cut some fresh basil from my herb garden and rolled up a strip of mozzarella and a piece of basil inside a slice of my soft, smoky eggplant.
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That's an old photo of my basil plants. With all the rain we've had they are huge now!! In fact all my herbs are flourishing, thankfully.

Then I topped it with more fresh basil and a drizzle of sweet aged balsamic vinegar - some of THE BEST stuff on earth.
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You can buy this in any Italian specialty grocery store. It's not cheap though. It'll run you anywhere from $25 to $100 a bottle, depending on quality. I got this bottle on Market Street in Philly's Little Italy. It's so rich and thick and sweet you would never believe it's vinegar. Scrumptious!

4 comments:

Erika said...

I love your blog! I have never cooked with eggplant, fear of the unknown I guess. But yours looks great!

Sarah Elizabeth said...

Your blog is great- I'm making the buffalo chicken tonight! I gave you an award on my blog :)

What's Cookin Chicago said...

Great minds must think alike since i made a similar eggplant rollatini over the weekend! This looks wonderful!

Colleen said...

This looks delicious - great idea!