Eggplant Roll-ups with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese and Basil

Eggplant Roll-ups with Sun-dried Tomatoes, Goat Cheese and Basil

Over the weekend, I attempted to re-create a dish that we had earlier this summer at a great party at the Hennessey's.  Kevyn made a delicious roll-up with eggplant.  She served hers with dinner, but I thought it might make a good hors d'oeuvres, too, if I made them smaller.  I am always looking something easy and somewhat healthy to serve with drinks.  Here's how I made mine.

You will need a medium-sized eggplant (they are great right now!), sun-dried tomatoes, goat cheese and fresh basil, plus toothpicks.

An hour in advance, slice the eggplant and heavily salt it to draw out any bitterness and excess moisture, then place the slices in a colander to drain. Spread them out as much as you can.

Oil the slices then grill them.  Tom said he grilled them for a two or three minutes on each side.  You want the eggplant cooked, but not limp and mushy.

Cut the eggplant slices into two long strips.  Place a little goat cheese, then a well-drained sun-dried tomato and a basil leaf on the eggplant.

Roll it up from the fat end to the thin end and poke a toothpick all the way through so it won't come apart.

Our first taste test told us that the skin was too chewy and wasn't adding anything.  So, I cut the skin off the remaining eggplant.

Then I made an assembly line.

It was a very messy endeavor.  But fun!

And it yielded good results.

These little roll-ups are packed with flavor.

I made them a day in advance, stored them (covered with plastic wrap) in the refrigerator, then brought them up to room temperature, to take to a BBQ party.  They were well-received, even by people who don't like eggplant!

One medium eggplant made 16 roll-ups.