We recently hosted a fabulously long and colourful long with our friends at FIAT, with Pasta Mama sharing her magic in the kitchen. She treated us to this seasonal feast:
And, shared this delicious recipe to make at home (serves 4).
INGREDIENTS:
2 medium eggplant
3 garlic cloves
200g goats cheese
500ml of tomato passata
Salt + pepper
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of oregano (dried or fresh)
⅓ cup olive oil
½ lemon
METHOD:
1. Slice eggplant long ways about ½ cm thick and lay out on a board or tea towel. With a good hand of salt, sprinkle over each side of eggplant and leave for 15-20 minutes, or until water has been drawn out. Use a paper towel to dab the eggplant flesh and remove the moisture. Place onto an oven tray and cook at 180 degrees for 15 minutes. The eggplant should be just slightly cooked, put aside to cool.
2. In a bowl place the goats cheese with lemon juice, half the olive oil, oregano, some salt and pepper, using a fork smoosh all together and mix.
3. Place a dollop of the cheese mix at the bottom of each eggplant strip, then roll and tuck the eggplant around the ball, with the goats cheese in the centre. Repeat to all and place in an oven dish side by side.
4. In a medium fry pan add the remaining olive oil, the chopped garlic and cook for a few minutes until light brown. Add the jar of passata and butter, some salt and pepper and mix together. Pour the red sauce over the eggplant rolls.
5. Place into the oven at 180 degrees and cook for 25 minutes, spoon eggplant rolls and sauce onto Fenton & Fenton’s Il Mediterraneo serving plates and finish with sprinkle of goats cheese and or oregano!
