Eggplant & Beef Mince Roulade

[thorngrove]

I rather enjoy cooking magazines - as long as I've eaten beforehand. They have a very visual appeal that goes straight to my stomach and tends to make me very, very hungry. Anyway, I bought an absolutely gorgeous eggplant the other week - firm and shiny and glowing white and the most beautiful shades of purple. It was almost a crime to eat it, but it had to be done. Something extra special was called for however, and I fortuitously remembered a recipe from Delicious's annual Italian issue which had caught my interest.

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It's my adaption rather than their exact recipe (I must admit to seldom following the recipes, merely using them as a starting point) but is largely based on it. I recommend you buy two eggplants rather than my one.

Sadly I forgot to photograph the first meal I got out of this recipe, and the second time round it reheated well, but didn't exactly look very pretty (plus I *cough*singed the edges a little through inattention*cough*), so you will just have to take my word for it that it did indeed look exactly like the photo in the magazine below. And it was indeed quite delicious.

Involtini di carne e malanzane (Meat and eggplant roulade)
Adapted from "Delicious" magazine's Regional Italian articles translation of a recipe from "La Cucina Salentina" by Lazaria Lucia. To serve two.

2 large eggplants
1 tsp sea salt
1 garlic clove
200 gm organic beef mince
60 gm breadcrumbs
70 gm grated Parmesan
2 organic eggs, beaten together
A good handful chopped flatleaf parsley
Salt & Pepper
Virgin Olive Oil
Toothpicks

1. Slice the aubergine lenthways into 1 - 1.5 cm thick strips.
2. Put in a colander or on a cakerack and salt with the seasalt.
3. Wait two hours. Any less and you aren't really going to get rid of the excess moisture.
4. The original recipe tells you to rub the inside of non-plastic bowl thoroughly with the clove and then discard. Personally, I don't think it made any impact whatsoever, so I'd either ditch the garlic altogether or crush it and chop it finely.
5. In a bowl, combine the (optional) garlic, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, eggs and parsley.
6. Season and then mix well.
7. Pat the eggplant slice dry with kitchen towel.
8. Make small balls of the meat mixture.
9. Place a ball in the center of the eggplant slice and roll up. Secure with toothpicks.
10. Put the eggplant rolls in a baking dish and drizzle with virgin olive oil.
11. Bake for 30 minutes at 180ºC/GM4/350ºF.
12. Serve immediately.

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