Description
This Eggplant Rollatini is a great summertime dish that’s vegan and paleo. It’s light, yet satisfying and has a fresh, mild smoked flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Rollatini:
- 2 medium eggplant sliced lengthwise ¼” thick, 12 slices (use a mandoline)
- Celtic sea salt
- Olive oil for grilling
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
For the Tomato Sauce:
- 5–6 plum tomatoes, about 1½ pounds, cut in half
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus a little for grilling the tomatoes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (a few shakes)
- Celtic sea salt and fresh pepper
- ¼ cup finely shredded basil leaves
For the Cashew Cheese
- 1 cup raw cashews (soaked for 4 hours if possible)
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- 1 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
- Black pepper
- ¼ cup water, approximately
Instructions
For the Rollatini:
- Slice eggplants length-wise into 1/4-inch thin slices (it’s easiest to do this using a mandoline ) You should have about 12 slices of similar size (reserve end pieces that are shorter or odd-shaped for a stir fry).
- Salt the eggplant on both sides and let sit to “sweat” for 10 minutes – this makes the eggplant less bitter. (optional if you’re short on time)
- Preheat the grill on medium.
- Clean and oil the grill, once it’s hot.
- Pat the eggplant dry with a paper towel or kitchen towel.
- Brush the eggplant lightly with olive oil and grill over medium heat turning until tender and lightly charred, 3 minutes per side.
For the Tomato Sauce
- Turn the grill up to medium high.
- Brush the tomatoes with a little bit of the olive oil. (If your grill is well seasoned you can skip this step).
- Place the tomatoes onto the grill, cut side down.
- Grill about 2 minutes.
- Turnover and grill until tender and lightly charred about 3-4 minutes.
- Transfer tomatoes to a blender and puree until smooth.
- Heat the olive oil in a medium sauté pan.
- Add garlic and red pepper flakes, sauté on low heat 1 minute until garlic is softened.
- Pour in the pureed tomatoes and sprinkle with salt.
- Simmer until sauce is thickened 10-15 minutes.
- Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat.
- Stir in basil.
For the Cashew Cheese
- Drain and rinse the cashews.
- In a blender or food processor add the cashews, garlic, thyme, oregano, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, mustard, salt, pepper and water.
- Blend or process to form a thick paste. Add more water if necessary, but not much, you want it to be thick like ricotta cheese.
To Assemble and Serve:
- Spoon enough of the tomato sauce to cover the bottom of a serving
- Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon of the cashew “cheese” onto one end of each eggplant slice. Roll into a tight log. Repeat with remaining eggplant slices.
- Place the rolled eggplants on top of the tomato sauce in a pinwheel design.
- Garnish with thinly sliced basil leaves.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat before serving.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Main Dish, Side Dish
- Cuisine: Vegan, Paleo, Whole30, Italian
Keywords: eggplant rollatini, vegan, paleo, eggplant, tomato, grilling