Greetings, blogosphere! Between a trip to LA, general laziness, and many piles of clean laundry that just won’t fold themselves, I haven’t been blogging much. I am determined to come up with a holiday schedule to ensure that all of the sensational, mouth-watering, get-you-in-the-spirit foods are tasted, sauteed, spread on crackers, crafted into soups, and yes– of course– blogged about.

My dear mother requested this dish, which is one I’d forgotten all about! It’s very easy, keeps well, and is a great idea if you have vegetarians coming to dinner. Cheesy but not super rich, healthy so you feel virtuous, and just plain delish. If you want to be quick about it, buy jarred tomato sauce and skip the whole make-it-yourself part.

Eggplant Roll-Ups
Altered slightly from Epicurious

Tomato sauce:
2 lbs fresh tomatoes
1 onion, diced fine
2 T olive oil
pinch sugar
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
salt & pepper
1/4 c chopped fresh basil

For the rolls:
2 medium eggplants
oil (spray is best)
salt
1/3 c goat cheese (I used plain, but herbed would be tasty)
1/3 c feta cheese
2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c chopped fresh basil

Start with the tomato sauce and blanch the tomatoes. You don’t have to do this part, but it does make a smoother sauce in the end. Dunk the tomatoes in boiling water for 15 seconds and then peel them. It’s a good idea to core and score them first, so that you aren’t handling a slightly mushy product post-blanch. Chop them coarsely or put through the food processor. You will puree the whole thing later, so processing them now is not essential!

Saute the onion in the oil until soft, about 5 minutes or so. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, then add the tomatoes, S&P, and sugar. Cook this down for awhile– mine went for about an hour until I was satisfied with the consistency. Add the basil at the very end and season with S&P to taste.

It’s a good idea to start on the rolls while your sauce is simmering– you will probably find them to be ready at about the same time.

Peel the eggplant and slice lengthwise into 1/4-inch pieces. Sprinkle with salt and let sit over the sink in a colander for about 20 minutes. Heat the oil in a frying pan, pat dry the sliced eggplant, and brown each piece on both sides. Alternatively, you can layer them out on a baking sheet and broil for a few minutes on each side. I don’t know why I didn’t go this route. Note to self.

While the eggplant cooks, mix the cheeses and basil in a bowl. My mixture was fairly dry and I was tempted to throw in some cream cheese, but decided that it was all going to melt together and be awesome in the end. If you like the draw of a “four cheese” item, then by all means: cream cheese it up!

As the eggplant slices finished, I placed a large tablespoon down the middle of each (lengthwise) and rolled them (short side as the start of the roll..you don’t want a long, skinny roll-up).

Place them, seam-side down and close together, into a 13×9″ baking sheet. Sprinkle any remaining cheese on top and pop them under the broiler for a few minutes to melt and bubble.

If the sauce is done (make sure to taste test!), blend it with an immersion blender to make it extra smooth. Ladle it over the top and KABOOM! You’re a sorcerer, cause that stuff is magical.

This got rave reviews from my family, who would have no qualms telling me otherwise! So nom, people of the world. Nom!