Greek Eggplant-Feta Rolls In Rich Tomato Sauce
This eggplant-feta recipe will become one of your favorites! Eggplant stuffed with tangy feta and baked in the most delicious tomato sauce.
I call feta, eggplant and tomato the holy trinity of Greek summer recipes. Truly, these 3 ingredients belong together and complement each other wonderfully. Eggplant roasted to perfection in delicious tomato sauce is perfect with feta! There are a variety of Greek dishes that use these ingredients, but simply cooking eggplant with tomato sauce and olive oil and accompanying it with feta is the most traditional and classic way of eating them. For this recipe I was inspired by the Italian dish rollatini, but instead of using ricotta, I used tangy feta. Eggplant rolls stuffed with feta and topped with a rich and delicious tomato sauce. This dish is delicious! Don’t forget to accompany this dish with some good bread for dipping in that wonderful sauce.
Nutritional Value
Now, this is what I would call a comfort food but also fantastically nutritious! Yep! That’s the beauty of the Mediterranean diet: Good food that is also Good for you. So obviously the eggplant is a superfood, rich in soluble fiber, that’s the kind of fiber that lowers your cholesterol. Eggplant is also rich in antioxidants that may keep your blood pressure in check and reduce artery stiffness. Now coupled with the tomato sauce which includes onions, garlic and extra virgin olive oil you are getting even more antioxidants. And I lightned it up a bit by roasting the eggplant instead of frying it.
Ingredients
- Eggplant: For this dish it is preferable to use a long thinner eggplant to get more of a bite-size effect. If you are using larger ones, then you will also need to use larger pieces of feta.
- Feta: If you can find Greek feta, get it! Technically there is no such thing as feta from another country as feta is a Greek traditional cheese. If you are not able to find Greek feta, try to find feta that is made from sheep’s milk. Authentic feta is made with sheep’s milk not cow’s milk.
- Crushed Tomatoes: When I don’t have fresh tomatoes, I will use canned crushed tomatoes. If using fresh, just pass the tomatoes through a food processor.
- Herbs: It is preferable to use fresh or frozen herbs, if you are using dry, use ½ to 1/3 of the amount.
- Onion and garlic: For this recipe I basically puree the onion and garlic, so the sauce is smooth rather than chunky.
How to make Greek Eggplant-Feta Rolls in Rich Tomato Sauce
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Greek Eggplant-Feta Rolls in Rich Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons olive oil + more for brushing
- 2 garlic cloves peeled
- 1 medium onion quartered
- 20 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp. chopped parsley
- 2 tbsp chopped mint
- ½ tsp salt plus more for sprinkling on eggplant
- A pinch of sugar
- 1 ½ pound eggplant about 4-5 medium size-choose long thinner eggplants
- 4 ounces feta cut in pieces 1 inch (2 ½ cm) long by ¼ inch (½ cm) wide
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350 F (180 C)
- Start making the sauce. In a food processor add the onion and garlic and mix. Or alternatively you can grate the onion and crush the garlic and mix well.
- Heat over medium heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a small pot and sauté the onion-garlic mixture for 1-2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, a pinch of sugar, the salt and mix. Let it simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1 tbsp fresh parsley and 1 tbsp fresh mint and mix. Set aside
- Slice the eggplant lengthwise about ¼ inch (½ cm) thick
- Place on a pan in one layer, slightly salt them and let them sit for 20 minutes.
- Once 20 minutes have passed pat dry with paper towel and brush with olive oil. Place in the oven and heat for about 15-20 minutes.
- Remove and let cool enough so that you can handle them.
- Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce on the bottom of your baking dish.
- Prepare the rolls, place a piece of feta on one end of eggplant and roll carefully, place on the baking dish. Repeat with the rest of the eggplant.
- Pour over the eggplant ¼ cup of olive oil, then spoon over the rest of the sauce.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, remove and let it cool for 20 minutes.
- Sprinkle mint and parsley before serving.
Notes
- Store in the refrigerator covered for up to 3 days.Â
- To reheat:Â Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C) and heat until warm, about 10-15 minutes.
- To freeze: You can bake this and let it cool and freeze or assemble without baking and freeze.
You May Also Like These Recipes
- Greek Cheesy Eggplant and Red Pepper Casserole
- Mediterranean Eggplant stuffed with Fresh Tomato and Onion
- Greek Mini Eggplant-Feta Phyllo Turnovers–Melitzanopitakia
These are delicious and the sauce is so tasty.![5 stars](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=)
I like this dish very much even the colours are so beautiful . I like veg a lot .
Thanks for your excellent idea of receipe.
Susan curmi
Thank you Susan!
Made this a couple of times this summer with eggplants from the farmers market. Never knew what to do with eggplant until I bought your book. Now it’s one of our favorite dishes. Made it for my in-laws and they loved it too. Simple, delicious and filling. Thanks!![5 stars](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODdhAQABAPAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAEACAkQBADs=)
Just. wish you put the nutritional values for each recipe
Absolutely love them