Eggplant can be served into many forms, and I have tried in many ways like cooking, baking and roasting. Eggplant is one of my favorite veggies, but unfortunately my husband doesn't like to have eggplant. I have made Rose apple tart. A rose feels a rather appropriate way to ignite a love affair with eggplant so made this Eggplant Roses. Eggplant is often bemused for its spongy texture, but that same texture makes it incredibly easy to manipulate when raw, and allows eggplant to literally soak up the flavors of whatever it is cooked with.
Thinly slicing the eggplant gives us the opportunity to twirl it up into tasty cheese filled roses, a delicious side dish, or a two bite appetizer. And if you're wondering why one might want an eggplant rose, trust me, this is the tastiest rose you'll ever eat.
These eggplant roses can be fill with any numbers of fillings. You could use creamy ricotta whipped with an egg, shredded fresh coconut with herbs, cheddar cheese and paprika, minced meat, cottage cheese with nuts , feel free to use what you have on hand. My version is cheddar cheese with herbs and paprika hold these eggplant spirals together beautifully and still let the taste and texture of the eggplant shine through.
All you need
Ingredients:
500 gram eggplants (long and skinny )
1 cup cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs (parsley and basil)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon paprika flakes
Salt to taste
Method:
Preheat Oven at 200 degree C. Brush a muffin tray with the oil and set aside.
In a small bowl combine the cheddar cheese, chopped herbs, paprika flakes , salt and set aside.
Trim the stems from the eggplants. Using a sharp knife, thinly slice the eggplants. You should have about 40 long, skinny pieces.
Line 4 eggplant slices end to end. Sprinkle the slices with about two tablespoons of the Cheddar mixture, roll up the eggplant and place flat-side down in a muffin tray well. Repeat filling and rolling.
Sprinkle any remaining Cheddar mixture over the top of each rose. Bake the eggplant roses about 25 minutes at 180 degree C until golden and tender .
Cool the roses in the tray for 5-10 minutes, then remove before the cheese sets and sticks to the muffin tray. Serve hot.