Eggplant Roll Ups

Prep Work before assembling the main dish.

Veggies (add a little or all to mix to taste)
2 large eggplants, 1 peeled at top and bottom sides then cut in thin strips on a mandolin. The second one peeled & diced.

Salt each strip of the mandolined eggplant and let set aside for 15 minutes to absorb some of the liquid in the eggplant. Rinse, pat dry and lay out on a cookie sheet on top of parchment paper. Spray a little olive oil on both sides of each strip. Bake at 400 for 5 – 8 minutes or until edges slightly brown. Remove and set aside.

Place cubed eggplant in a skillet with olive oil on medium and cook until soft, salt and pepper to taste.

1 large sweet onion, slowly caramelized
1 cup of Grilled mushrooms button or baby bella work well, sautéed with garlic and olive oil.
1 zucchini, julienned, salt and pepper to taste, cooked until tender (if making a veggie only version, not needed if using sausage)
2 cups of spinach or mixed greens, salted & peppered to taste, sautéed until tender.

1 large broccoli head, chopped, spread on cookie sheet, salt, pepper to taste and add shredded parmesan if desired. roasted in the oven at 400 for 6 minutes or until begins to brown, stir and roast and for 4more minutes.

Set all the veggies aside.

Meat
1 lb of ground sausage (I use locally raised and produced ground sausage)
Cook until crumbled and lightly browned. Remove excess grease with a paper towel. Add 2 tbsp of grade B pure maple syrup and while stirring constantly cook and coat sausage until lightly caramelized

Noodles
I like to add some pasta to the mix for texture and flavor. I usually use a Cavatelli or baby shell.

Ricotta mix (combine)
1 cup of Tuscan herbed parmesan, shredded
1 large container of ricotta cheese
2 tsp of dried basil
salt & pepper to taste
1 egg whisked first
You can add your cheese mix here or sprinkle as desired while assembling the eggplant rolls.

Sauce (slow cook while preparing all other ingredients)
2 medium whole sweet tomatoes, chunked
1 can of tomato paste
2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 box of organic tomato bisque soup
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup of red wine
4 garlic cloves – crushed
1 tsp of dried bail
1 tsp of dried oregano

Assembly
1 cup of sharp cheddar shredded
1 cup of shredded mozzarella
1 cup of shredded Tuscan parmesan Romano
Basil leaves, fresh chopped

1 package of fresh balled mozzarella, sliced
Basil leaves, fresh chopped

Grease pans, Coat bottom of pan with some sauce. Lay individual eggplant slice out on work surface.
Coat the noodle with ricotta mix. Sprinkle with desired veggies and or meat. Be careful not to overload on any one thing and spread across whole eggplant evenly. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and shredded Parmesan (if you didn’t already add that to ricotta mix). Gently roll and place in pan. Coat each rollup with more sauce. If freezing the rollups I usually stop here. Place plastic wrap across the top layer so it is touching everything and no air can enter, cover with several tinfoil layers and label. Freeze up to 6 months. When ready to eat, thaw, then top each roll with a fresh slice of mozzarella and bake until bubbling and cheese has melted. Sprinkle with chopped fresh basil leaves and serve.

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