Saucy, cheesy, and ultra-flavorful these Baked Eggplant Rolls are the ultimate party appetizer! Don't have a party going on? Enjoy them on a family night! Or on a date night with your significant other (no garlic in this recipe, well, except in the croutons which are completely optional).
Greek Eggplant rolls which are very similar to Italian Eggplant Rollatini, are eggplant slices stuffed with cheese and baked together with tomato sauce.
Type Of Cheese
Eggplant Rollatini is usually filled with a mixture of cheese like Mozzarella and Parmesan or Ricotta and parmesan. In this Greek version of Rollatini, eggplants are stuffed with Kasseri cheese.
It's a yellow cheese made from sheep's milk that's not too salty, melts, and gets stringy when baked. If you cannot find Kasseri cheese where you live, there are a few pretty good options to use instead. And in some cases even better than Kasseri depending on everyone's taste.
For example, Kefalotyri or Kefalograviera cheese, both are made with sheep's milk (and also used to make Saganaki). But they are stronger flavored, more aged, and savory. They don't melt as well as Kasseri but they soften well enough.
And another good option is Halloumi. A much lighter cheese that softens nicely when baked and adds a lightness to the dish in comparison to the types of cheese mentioned above.
The Sauce
The tomato sauce is a simple sauce made on the stovetop and then pulsed using either an immersion blender or a blender. To get a smooth flavorful sauce.
The ingredients for the sauce are olive oil, onion, garlic, canned diced tomatoes, bay leaf, dried thyme, ground cumin, smoked paprika, and a small amount of fresh lemon juice.
The cumin and smoked paprika add a more Middle-Eastern flavor profile to this dish and go amazing with eggplant. While the parsley (which gets mixed into the sauce after it's taken off the heat) and lemon juice, add a freshness to the sauce that balances the heavier cheese flavor.
How To Make
So simple! Prepare the sauce and then slice the eggplant into long thin slices. The thickness of the eggplant slices should be no more than ½ cm (¼ inch) thick, so you can easily roll them.
TIP: Before rolling the eggplants, brush them with oil and bake them a bit first. This will add to their flavor and give them elasticity making them easy to roll.
Cut the cheese into small sticks/pieces that fit inside the slices. Add a piece of cheese on top of each slice and roll! Spread the sauce inside a baking or casserole dish. Place the stuffed eggplant rolls over the sauce, cover the dish with foil, and bake.
Then uncover and bake a few minutes more until they get a nice color on top.
Can I Make Ahead Of Time?
Yes, you can make it up to 3 days ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to bake.
These eggplant rolls with cheese also keep well in the freezer. You can make up to 2 weeks ahead of time and keep it in the freezer. If you are planning to use Halloumi cheese though you may want to skip freezing.
Thaw overnight in the fridge before baking.
Serve With
I like to serve these Baked Eggplant Rolls with some ground croutons on top. So I make a batch of my homemade garlic croutons (which are also a great way to use stale bread), pulse a bit in a blender, and then sprinkle over the rolls when serving.
I also sprinkle some fresh parsley on top as well. But you can add other herbs too, if you prefer, like spearmint or basil.
Side dishes that pair well with this dish, are Greek Lemon + Oregano Potatoes, Greek Salad, Tzatziki Dip, Homemade Yogurt Pita Bread, Fried Green Peppers, and Greek Stuffed Vine Leaves.
Recipe
Baked Eggplant Rolls Stuffed With Cheese
Ingredients
For The Eggplant Rolls:
- 2 large eggplants about 600 grams
- 200 grams (7 ounce) Greek Kasseri cheese (or Kefalograviera, Kefalotyri, Halloumi)
- olive oil
- salt and pepper
For The Tomato Sauce:
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ small onion minced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 250 grams (1 cup) canned diced tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoons thyme
- ⅔ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice fresh
To Serve With:
- fresh chopped parsley
- 1 batch of homemade garlic croutons see note 1 below
- or ground walnuts for gluten-free version
Instructions
Make The Tomato Sauce:
- Heat olive oil in a saucepan. Cook onion and garlic over low heat until caramelized.
- Add the diced tomatoes. ½ cup hot water (125 ml), bay leaf, thyme, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper.
- Simmer over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens. Take the pot off the heat.
- Pulse the sauce using an immersion blender or a blender until smooth.
- Stir in the parsley, smoked paprika, and lemon juice. Set aside while preparing the eggplants.
Prepare The Eggplant:
- Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F.
- Rinse and dry the eggplants. Slice off the top and bottom and then cut into ½ cm (¼ inch) thick long slices.
- Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay the eggplant slices on it (it won't fit all of them so either use another baking sheet or bake in batches).
- Brush the eggplant slices with olive oil. Then season them lightly with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until they get some color on top. Remove and let cool down enough to handle.
- Cut the cheese into small sticks to fit inside the eggplant slices. Cut it into as many pieces as the eggplant slices you have.
- Add a piece of cheese to each eggplant slice and roll it up.
- Spread the tomato sauce on a baking dish or casserole dish. If the sauce has gotten too thick mix in a splash of water to it.
- Lay the eggplant rolls on top of the sauce.
Bake The Eggplant Rolls:
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for about 25 minutes (same temperature).
- Uncover the dish and bake for 5-10 minutes more. Until they get nicely colored on top.
- Serve warm, sprinkled with fresh chopped parsley, ground croutons, or ground walnuts.
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