You may have noticed, I am having a Mediterranean food moment right now. As part of this obsession, eggplant has been a regular on my shopping list for the past couple of weeks and this particular recipe has shown up a couple of times on the dinner table. The sweetness of the roasted tomatoes paired with the distinctive taste of melted goat cheese and smokey eggplant are a match made in heaven. They are perfect for making ahead of time and work well as either an appetizer, side dish or even a light summer dinner on top of a green salad.
Note : If you can, get goat cheese that has a thick “skin” around it like this one – it has a slightly different taste from the fresh variety and is particularly delicious when melted.
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant, sliced 1/4 inch lengthwise
- 6 Roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
- 1 chèvre (goat cheese) log, cut into 1/2 inch slices
- Herbes de Provence
- 3 tbsp fresh basil, slivered
- Salt, pepper
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F
- Place the tomatoes skin side down on a cookie sheet, drizzle with 1-2 tbsp olive oil, season with salt, pepper and herbes de Provence. Put in oven for 20-25 minutes or until the skin is slightly golden brown and set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, season the aubergine slices with salt, and pepper and drizzle with a 3-4 tbsp olive oil
- Move the slices around making sure they don’t stick to the grill. After 5-10 minutes, when one side starts getting charred grill marks, flip them. Cook for another 2-3 minutes and reserve on a plate to cool.
- On a wooden board, take a slice of aubergine and in the middle, place a slice of cheese, a sprinkle of herbes de Provence and a half tomato. Roll up the aubergine and stick a toothpick in to keep it together. Repeat until there are no more aubergines.
- Place the rolls on a slightly oiled cookie sheet. Drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil and put under the oven grill until the cheese melts, roughly 5-7 minutes
- Top with basil and serve hot or lukewarm