Food To Please A Crowd - Eggplant Rolls

When I think Christmas, I think Italian! There are a few explanation for my way of thought - one of which would be the festive colors of herbs and sauces that give way to the Christmas season. The other, might be that there are a number of vegetarian options within this type of cuisine. And, they don't all include noodles. These eggplant rolls filled up the table nicely, right next to prime rib at Grant Park's parent's house (say that 5 times fast), and even some of the selective eaters tried a bite or two. That's a win in my book. More about the epic Christmas meals to come with a special guest-chef later in the week!

On another note, Mind Over Booty will be featuring a new series of posts: Food To Please A Crowd. The series will highlight healthy vegetarian dishes that are filling and exciting, even for the meat eaters around your table. When entertaining, consider hitting all the important food categories - fats, carbohydrates and protein - your guests will stay fuller longer and not even miss their usual diet.

Ingredients:

2 eggplants, thinly sliced (1 cm)

Olive oil

Salt

Tomato Sauce:

1 jar organic marinara

Olive oil

½ red onion

4 cloves garlic, chopped

Fresh basil, chopped

½ tsp. red pepper flakes

Stuffing:

3 c. whole wheat couscous, rice, quinoa

1 tsp. oregano

¼ c. walnuts, chopped

3 green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic

2 Tbs. capers

Salt

Pepper

2 eggs

1 c. crumbled feta cheese

Topping:

¼ c. crumbled feta cheese

Fresh basil

¼ c. chopped walnuts

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

2.       Slice eggplant and lightly sprinkle olive oil and both sides, as well as salt.

3.       Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, flipping halfway between. Be careful not to burn eggplant, but do thoroughly cook.

4.       Cook couscous (or other grain) according to package directions.

5.       In a medium sauce pan, work on tomato sauce by sautéing onions in olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes.

6.       Add the rest of tomato sauce ingredients, except for the sauce and cook for another 3 minutes.

7.       Pour marinara into sauce pan. Stir, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. (More time simmering won’t hurt).

8.       Once couscous is cooked, mix in all other filling ingredients.

9.       Lay out each eggplant strip and fill with a heaping spoonful of stuffing.

10.   Roll eggplant away from you and place into a greased 9 X 13 dish.

11.   Once eggplant rolls are all made, pour sauce over top.

12.   Crumble topping over dish and bake for 30 minutes at 350.

**Inspired by Green Kitchen Stories, a lovely husband/wife traveling cooking team.