Rolled Eggplant with Sausage and Mozzarella
Sometimes I see a recipe and it stops me dead in my tracks. This is such a recipe. My friend Karie Engels posted the picture on her Facebook wall and I was in awe. I had to make it. Everything about it sounded absolutely scrumptious. Luckily for me I had all the ingredients, not at all suspicious that I buy eggplant like they are a staple while grocery shopping. I was beyond excited to make this for my family. Supper couldn’t get here fast enough!
Here’s why:
One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating. ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story
You can check out my lovely friend Karie Engels from Celebrating Home with Karie Engels. Find her: here
Where she found the recipe: here
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb. Italian or Asian eggplant, trimmed and cut lengthwise into slices 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt, to taste
5 oz. Italian sausage, casings removed (mine was closer to 6-ounces, 2 links turkey hot turkey sausage)
2 cups tomato sauce (homemade or not, today I had organic Trader Joe’s)
Handful fresh basil roughly chopped (not in original recipe)
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
4 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small pieces (about 1 cup)
4 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
How to:
Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F.
Brush the eggplant on both sides with the 1/4 cup olive oil and season with salt. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until lightly browned underneath, about 10 minutes. Turn the slices over and bake until tender, 5 to 7 minutes more. Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
brushed with lovely EVOO!
gorgeous eggplant….yum
In a pan over medium-high heat, warm the 2 Tbs. olive oil. Add the sausage and sauté until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes. Toss in your handful chopped basil.
perfect sauce….could be eaten just by it’s scrumptious self!
In a bowl, stir together the ricotta, mozzarella, 2 tablespoons of the Parmigiano-Reggiano and the parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Spread half of the sauce on the bottom of a 9-inch baking dish. Place a spoonful of the cheese mixture near the wide end of each eggplant slice, roll up, and place upright or upside down in the sauce.
now we’re getting somewhere!
Spoon the remaining sauce between the rolls. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 Tbs. Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake until the sauce is bubbling, about 20-30 minutes. Serve over linguini or any long pasta you like. Today I had angel hair, it was perfect.
OK, now I am officially drooling!
oh dear….so so perfectly succulent!
Printer Friendly: Rolled Eggplant with Sausage and Mozzarella
Note: I like to use Spicy Turkey Sausage but it would be tasty with any favorite of yours!
Peace out,
Isabelle
P.S. The only thing I did wrong with this recipe was to not double it. Next time, I am 100% making twice the amount…we had NO leftovers…such a shame!
Recipe shared here as well:
Oh Isabelle, this looks fantastic!
It was perfect! I can’t wait to make it again!
Totally one of my most favorite recipes ever! xo Ally PS…next time double!! lol!
I’ll take some of that! I have zucchini, maybe I will try that so I don’t have to leave the house! I like eggplant better though…OH the choices!
Isabelle, the title of your post stopped ME in my tracks! (It sounded soooo good…) Thanks for the heads up on doubling the recipe, too!
This looks fantastic, Isabelle. But I just came back from the doc and am PARANOID about sodium. I’m sure it’ll wear off soon, and I can try your dedacadent eggglant. I’ll make it my goal.
oh Sid…you and eggplant…I though it was a sure shot!?
Great presentation of this dish, wonderful photos Izzy
thanks Scott!
This looks fantastic… I love eggplants and always looking for new recipes…. We planted eggplant this year and if the flowers are anything to go by we are going to have lots and we only planted 2 plants. Have a great weekend.
You beat me to it! I saw Kari’s post and wanted to make this too. I’m so glad you liked it because now I MUST make it.
This is just the recipe I need for all the zuchini in my fridge. It looks delicious.
Oh man, Isabelle, this rocks!!!!! I love eggplant! This sounds fantastic! Can’t wait to try it!! I am so glad that you shared at Fit and Fab!
Salut Isabelle, est-ce possible de chercher une recette sur ton site en indiquant des ingrédients (comme une recherche Google)? Je dois passer de la saucisse chorizo, que j’ai gagnée dans un panier. On ne sait pas trop quoi faire avec cela, on n’en a jamais mangé. J’ai cherché sur internet mais il n’y a pas grand chose. La loi du moindre effort me pousserait à te demander si tu as une recette pour faire un plat avec ça? J’ai regardé sur ton site et, à part de regarder toutes les pages une par une, y a-t-il une méthode un peu plus rapide? Hé, en passant, j’ai crois que tu es venue à Montréal en juin-juillet? Félicitation pour ton site. Je ne sais pas où tu as pris cette passion pour la cuisine mais ta famille doit vraiment se délecter! Bye.
Je viens de trouver l’endroit, en haut à droite, pour faire une recherche. Ça semble un peu comme sur Google, je n’ai pas trouvé grand chose. C’est probablement une sorte de saucisse plutôt rare.
Just viaited your site and am pleasantly entertained! Look forward to more!